Proof of Existence
by Scrum
Summary: When Yukari moved to a new town, she didn't have any friends. Then, she met IA, who's perfect in every way. There's just one problem: Yukari is the only one who can see her. Yukari/IA
1. Chapter 1

Yukari didn't like her new neighborhood. She couldn't understand why her family had to move in the first place, really - she missed her old room, her old school, her old friends. Now they were in the town of Yamaha and Yukari didn't have any friends at all.

Her parents had told her that it was okay, that she was new, that she would surely make friends soon. However, grade schoolers weren't very welcoming of new arrivals, and more often than not, Yukari found herself playing alone. Her parents, busy, preoccupied, focused more on matters of work than on matters of family, were often shut up with their laptops, so whenever she wasn't at school, Yukari would go outside.

Near her house, there was a small park with a small playground, usually empty because most of the people who lived in the neighborhood were old, their children all grown up. Yukari spent most of her time here, sitting on the swings as she stared up at the moon.

She wished she had a brother, or a sister - someone to spend time with, someone who would always be there. But she didn't. The loneliness ate at her heart.

Things changed, however, one spring night. Yukari had been on her way to the playground, as usual, when she saw her.

A girl, the same age as her, sitting on a bench, kicking her legs. Her hair was pale and tangled, a long strand hanging in front of her face, her eyes a serious sea-blue. Yukari hesitated, not knowing whether or not to approach her, but this girl looked even lonelier than she was, so Yukari decided to talk to her. Maybe they could be friends. Yukari felt a bit of her heart lighten at the thought of it. She walked over to the girl.

"Hi," said Yukari.

The girl said nothing, her head still looking down, legs still idly swinging. Yukari furrowed her eyebrows. Perhaps she didn't hear.

She tried again. "Hi!"

The girl looked up then, startled. Her eyes were large and luminous. "H-hello?"

Yukari grinned and stuck out her hand. "I'm Yukari!"

The girl stared at her hand as though it was a foreign creature. A silence passed.

"You have to shake my hand," Yukari clarified, rather helpfully she thought. "And tell me your name too."

The girl nodded slowly and shook Yukari's hand. Her hand was cool in Yukari's own, as though she had been sitting outside for a while. "I'm...Ia."

"Ia?" What a weird name. "Do you live here?"

Ia nodded.

Yukari smiled. "I live here too! Just down there," she waved her arm. "It has a red roof."

Ia looked. "That one?" she asked, raising a slender arm to point at it.

"Yup, that's it," said Yukari. An idea occurred to her. "Do you want to play a game?"

"A game?" Ia echoed. "What kind?"

Yukari thought. She didn't bring anything with her, no ball, no frisbee, and tag was only fun when you had a lot of people. "Um...how about we go to the playground?" Yukari's cheeks heated up as she spoke. Ia probably lived here for a while, she didn't just move like Yukari, so maybe she was bored with the playground. That would explain why Yukari never saw her there, at least. "O-or we can play something else, if you want. I didn't bring anything with me...I'm sorry."

Ia blinked. "The playground is okay."

"Really?"

Ia nodded and, for the first time, offered Yukari a small smile. "Really." Then, she got up from the bench and, to Yukari's surprise, took her hand. Ia pointed to the playground. "We're going there, right?"

Yukari was puzzled; wasn't that the only playground? Then again, Ia did live here longer than Yukari. Maybe she knew about other playgrounds. Still, Yukari didn't want to wander away too far from home, so she nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that's it!"

"Okay," Ia said, and without another word she started marching towards the playground, Yukari in tow. There, they played for quite a while, and when Yukari became aware of time once more, the sun was in the latter end of its set, the sky a dark purple. Reluctantly, she stood from the sandcastle they had been meticulously creating. Her parents didn't like it when she stayed out too late. "I should go home now."

Ia looked up, eyes wide with surprise. "Go? Why?"

"It's getting dark," said Yukari. She crouched down and looked at Ia. "Shouldn't you go home too? Your parents won't be worried?"

Ia shrugged. "It's not too late."

Yukari frowned, feeling a stir of worry in her heart. "You should go home," she said. "My parents say that when it gets too dark out, bad guys come."

Ia blinked at her before getting up to her feet, dusting the sand off of her legs. "Okay."

"Great!" Yukari smiled, relieved. "Then, we can play again tomorrow?"

At that, Ia's face brightened almost immediately. "Yes! Where?"

"We can meet over there," said Yukari, pointing at the bench she saw Ia at. "In the morning."

Ia nodded, absorbing this information. "Morning. Okay. I will be there." She said the words so seriously Yukari laughed. Ia talked kind of weird, but she was fun, and Yukari liked her.

"Do you go to school near here?" Yukari asked. If she did, then they could just play together at school. Yukari imagined what it would be like, sitting next to Ia. They could pass notes, eat lunch together, walk home together...

But Ia dashed her hopes when she shook her head. "No."

"Oh." Well, that made some kind of sense. Ia's clothes were pretty nice, even though they were dirtied now from their play. Maybe she went to some sort of private school. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Ia shook her head again. 'It's okay," she said. "I can find the way back."

Yukari nodded, and that said, they walked part of the way back before splitting up at the stop sign at the crosswalk. Yukari watched Ia walk away, turning a left, then disappearing behind a corner. Then, Yukari broke out into a walk that morphed into a run the closer to she got to home. She couldn't wait to tell her parents about Ia, and the moment she opened the door, in the middle of kicking off her shoes, she shouted, "I made a new friend!"

"Did you?" her mother, seated at the couch, looked up from her laptop.

Yukari nodded. "Her name is Ia," she declared. "She lives here."

"...Ia? I didn't know there were other kids in the neighborhood."

"Well, Ia is," said Yukari, defensively.

Her mother raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "That's nice."

-xxx-

The next morning, Yukari hurriedly ate her breakfast of toast and eggs as she watched the small television installed on the kitchen counter along with her parents. It was boring stuff about money and stocks, but it was something to look at while she ate, even though Yukari didn't really understand any of it.

"I'm going to play with Ia," Yukari said once she finished wolfing down her breakfast. She hopped off of the chair.

Her father looked up at the clock. "This early?"

Yukari frowned. It was eight, which was around when school started. "Yeah!" Then, she realized that Ia and her had never really set a time for when to meet, and a vague worried horror passed over her mind. What if...what if Ia got up really early, like she thought Yukari meant the crack of dawn, and went out at four in the morning or something and waited for Yukari for hours? Yukari could actually imagine Ia doing that. Eight might even be too late.

All Yukari's father saw, however, was the expression of horror passing over Yukari's face, but before he could say anything, Yukari had already turned and dashed out the door.

A few minutes later, she dashed back in to put her shoes on.

-xxx-

To Yukari's relief, when the bench came back into view, Ia was sitting on it, humming and kicking her legs. In the light of the morning, she looked beautiful, almost like some kind of princess, if it wasn't for the fact that her clothes were decidedly modern.

"Ia!" Yukari cried, and ran faster until she reached the girl fully, panting. "I'm sorry! Am I late?"

Ia looked startled by Yukari's sudden entrance, but she shook her head. "No." Then, she smiled. "I didn't know if you would come."

"Why wouldn't I come?"

Ia bit her lip and looked down. "I thought you might forget about me."

"Of course not!" Yukari said. She grabbed Ia's hand. "We're friends. I won't forget about you."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise!"

Ia's face brightened and she jumped off the bench. "Okay. I promise too. Do you want to explore?"

"Explore?" What was there to explore in a city suburb? Still, Ia looked so enthusiastic, Yukari didn't have the heart to refuse, so she gave her a smile. "We can do that."

-xxx-

Ia knew a lot, Yukari found. Ia knew all sorts of random facts about the neighborhood, like who the streets were named after, and what the first building in town was. She knew the names of plants, pointing things out to Yukari as the two of them ambled down the sidewalk, and she knew about the birds. Since the suburb itself was built up from a marsh, Ia dragged Yukari over to the rough walking trail that overlooked a lagoon and enthusiastically showed her the egrets and geese, listing off what they ate. She even knew their flight patterns. Ia was smart, Yukari found; smarter than any other kid she knew.

"How do you know all this?" Yukari asked.

"I read a lot," Ia answered.

Yukari had only just learned how to read, and all the books her house had were basic picture books, stuff for kids just starting out, nothing that would possibly contain the flight patterns of birds. Not that Yukari was that interested in such things, but Ia's enthusiasm for knowledge was contagious.

Back at home, Yukari took out each book from her bookshelf and studied the covers. Fairy tales, Momotaro, Shibawanko. She still had trouble with some of the words though, so more often than not, her parents read to her. Still, she needed to practice, and it was in this spirit of determination that Yukari picked out the book on fairy tales (due to it being the biggest book on the shelf) and, tucking it under her arm, brought it to the kitchen table and clambered onto the chair, where her mother was typing something.

"What did you do all day?" her mother asked.

"I played with Ia," said Yukari as she opened the book. The hardbound cover landed with a hollow-sounding 'clunk' on the table.

At that, her mother looked up from her laptop and frowned. "Yukari...today I talked with one of my friends...you know Si Yu? Kim Si Yu?"

"Yeah," said Yukari. Si Yu (though she always spelled her name SeeU, apparently because 'English is cool') was one of the most popular kids in school. Not knowing her was impossible.

"Well, I talked to her mom, and she said that she didn't know of any Ia who lived in the neighborhood," her mother continued.

Yukari frowned. What were they trying to say? "Well, I played with her! Today!"

"You shouldn't tell lies, Yukari," her mother said, and sighed. "I know you're lonely, so why don't you try to make friends at school?"

"I _do_ have a friend," Yukari said. "I'm not lying."

"Yukari," said her mother, "I know children have imaginary friends, but it's not a healthy habit to have. It's not good to play alone."

"No! I wasn't alone, I was with Ia! She's my...she's my best friend!"

A crease of worry appeared between her mother's eyebrows. "You need to make some real friends. Why don't you play with Si Yu tomorrow?"

"I don't like SeeU," Yukari protested. "She's loud and mean. Ia is nice and she's really, really smart. She's the smartest kid ever."

"When you make someone up," her mother continued, implacable, "they can be as perfect as you want."

"I didn't make her up!" Yukari's eyes began to sting with hot, frustrated tears. Why didn't she believe her? Just because SeeU's mom said she didn't know about her? That was _stupid_. Yukari would bet that she was just as stupid as SeeU. Ia was real. If she wasn't, how could she even be there? They held hands and talked and Ia knew about a lot of things that Yukari didn't. "She's real! I'll prove it to you."

Her mother was giving her a look. "Okay then."

-xxx-

At school the next morning, Yukari tried to broach the topic of Ia. In her mind, there was no way Ia was fake. Maybe she was new to the neighborhood, and just moved in, which is why no one had ever heard of her…or maybe it's just because she goes to a different school. Still, Yukari was certain that Ia had to exist. After all, if she didn't, how could Yukari see her and speak to her?

"Um…" Yukari said nervously as she turned to face her seatmate, Mayu, "so…are there any private schools around her?"

Mayu blinked owlishly at her and shrugged.

"W-well…do you know if there's any new kids in my neighborhood? I live up in, um, Vocalomakets…"

Mayu gave Yukari a strange look. "I dunno. I don't live there."

"Oh," said a new voice, and instinctively Yukari shrank. The high, distinctive, and haughty timbre of it could belong only to one girl. "Are you talking about your _imaginary friend_ , Yukari?"

SeeU's voice was a little louder than the current speaking volume of the room, so kids looked over, suddenly, and horribly, interested.

SeeU maliciously continued. "My mom says we're too old for that kind of thing. She says that she's glad _I_ don't make up friends."

Yukari looked over at Mayu, who was seemingly oblivious to the situation, having retreated back into her book. But Yukari had to stand up for Ia, so she glared at SeeU. "She's real!"

Cul, who had been sitting next to SeeU, started laughing. "Yukari's a baby! Yukari's a baby!"

"N-no I'm not!" Yukari protested, her skinny hands clenching into fists. She wanted to hit the red-headed girl in her face, but the faces of her disappointed parents flashed in her mind. And Yukari was way outnumbered, anyways. At this reminder of her own powerlessness, humiliated tears sprung to Yukari's eyes, which only increased the mercilessness of her schoolmates, like a shark to blood.

It felt like it took forever for the teacher to start and put class to order, and when she did, Yukari was slumped in her desk, sniffling pathetically. She could hardly wait for school to be over, so that she could go and grab Ia and prove everyone that they were wrong about her and that Ia was real, once and for all.

The moment Yukari got off the school bus that serviced her neighborhood, she immediately ran over to the playground to find Ia, who was sitting on the bench as always. At the sight of Yukari, Ia's face brightened and she jumped off the bench.

"Yukari!" Ia said with a smile that dropped once she saw Yukari's expression. "Yukari? What's wrong?"

Yukari bit her lip. "Ia, you have to come to my house."

Ia's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"My parents and my classmates don't think you're real," Yukari said in a rush. "They think I'm making you up. So we just have to show them you are!"

Ia paused. Then, she looked down at her feet. "That won't work."

Yukari stared. "It...it won't?"

"You're the only one who can see me," Ia said, head down. "No one else can."

Yukari felt a sick horror travel down her spine. Then, in a small voice, she spoke. "So...you're really...imaginary?"

Ia shook her head. "I don't feel imaginary."

Yukari frowned. "Well, if I made you up, then you wouldn't feel imaginary. You'd feel whatever I wanted you to feel." She turned away from Ia. Right when she found a new friend...except, she never really 'found' Ia at all. It was all in her head. She was just that - imaginary.

It wasn't fair.

"Do you think you made me up?" said Ia, softly.

"I guess so," said Yukari. "That's what my mom said." And later that night, she had overheard her father too, exchanging words, but one stood out - 'crazy'. Was she crazy? Shaking, Yukari stared down at her feet. What was she doing here? She should just go home. Just go home, and never talk about Ia again. "I…I should go. If I don't, then people'll think I'm crazy, and no one'll want to play with me ever again."

Yukari felt Ia take hold of her hand. "I want to play with you."

"You're not real," Yukari retorted, turning to face Ia.

Ia's eyes began to fill with tears. "Does this mean you aren't going to play with me anymore?"

Yukari swallowed. Ia looked so hurt. She was crying. And Yukari had so much fun with her...but Yukari didn't want to be crazy, and she didn't want to be sent away. "I don't think I can. If you're not real." She began to turn away.

"No!" Ia tightened her grip. "But...but I was so lonely before I found you. No one else can see me. Please," Ia began to sob, "please don't leave me alone. You'll forget about me, and you _promised_."

It was the most Ia had said all at once, and Yukari was caught. She stared at Ia, who was looking pleadingly at her through her tears. Ia, who was imaginary. Ia, who Yukari made up in her head...or did she? She felt so real, holding on to Yukari's arm.

Yukari didn't want to be crazy. However, one look at Ia's pleading, crying face, and Yukari crumbled.

"I can't tell anyone about you," said Yukari at last.

Ia stared up at her, a ray of hope lighting her expression. "You'll...stay with me?"

Yukari hesitated. This was it. It wasn't too late to turn back.

But Yukari couldn't betray Ia's hopeful expression. "I'll stay with you."

Ia stared at her, then, still sniffling from her tears, a wide smile crossed her face and she grabbed Yukari and hugged her tight. "Thank you! You're my best friend!"

Yukari hugged back, feeling the warmth of Ia, how her long hair felt against Yukari's hands. How could she be imaginary and so real at the same time? "You're my best friend too."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you want for dinner, Yukari?" her mom smiled at her as she pushed the grocery cart down the aisle, Yukari in tow. Now that Yukari was seven, her mother had started giving her more agency in what happens in the kitchen. It was nice. Whenever Yukari helped her out with stuff like picking ingredients or washing the rice, she felt proud and important, like a big kid.

"Oyakodon!" Yukari said happily, looking around. The grocery store always seemed so big and endless; all the labels, all the meat, all the vegetables, all the snacks…each product seemed bright and promising to Yukari's eyes.

The sunny smile on Yukari's face, however, stopped once she saw Ia, who was curiously peering at some of the cans in the canned food aisle.

Seeing Ia out and about in public was always uncomfortable for Yukari. She could never get used to how people just…ignored her presence, as though she wasn't even there. How people's eyes would just pass straight through her, as though she was made of nothing. Whenever Yukari and Ia played together on the playground, people passing by would always smile quizzically at Yukari, the weird girl who always played by herself.

But Yukari hated that, how people would just assume that she was alone. After all, she wasn't. She was with Ia. But she knew that that wasn't what it looked like to others, and she wasn't even sure what she thought of it herself.

Yukari glanced over at her mom, who was currently examining some spices, before sidling over to Ia, tapping her on the shoulder and startling her out of her reverie.

"Oh!" Ia said, smiling. "Yukari!"

Yukari wondered how Ia could be so surprised to see her, if she was imaginary. "What're you doing here?"

Ia shrugged, a light, graceful movement of the shoulders. "I was bored, and there's a lot of interesting stuff here. Like this!" Ia picked up a can of tomato soup. "What even is an….'acidity regulator'?"

Yukari blinked. She wasn't sure how an imaginary being in her head could get bored. She wanted to ask, but Ia always got a little quieter and a little sadder after Yukari asked those questions, and always would protest that she _wasn't_ imaginary, but Yukari was never really convinced. The evidence was against her, even though Yukari wished it wasn't. "Oh. Um…do you want to play later?"

Ia's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

"Yukari…" her mom's voice loomed over her, and the smile that was on Yukari's lips dropped.

"Oops," Ia said quietly as Yukari turned around.

Her mom was wearing that weird expression again, the one she always wore whenever Yukari ran out to play with Ia, whenever she catches Yukari in mid-conversation with Ia, whenever…anything relating to Ia happened, really. "Were you…" her mom paused, "talking to Ia again?"

"N-no," Yukari said.

Her mom's eyes grew stern, and the feeble lie crumbled. "Y….yes," Yukari said, avoiding her mom's gaze.

"You're too old to have an imaginary friend, Yukari," said her mom, letting the words hang in the air before she spoke more gently, "Why not play with some of your real friends?"

Yukari looked down, biting her lip. She didn't want to admit out loud to her mom that she didn't have any.

Her mom, sensing the meaning behind Yukari's silence, only sighed and turned around. When she next spoke, she affected a tone of cheerfulness that was so fake, it made Yukari feel even worse. "Well…I still need the chicken for the oyakodon. How about you pick some out for me?"

"Okay," said Yukari, trying to sound happier than she felt. She wanted to look at Ia before she left to mouth a good bye, but her mom was here, so Yukari couldn't even have that. Ia seemed to understand, for as Yukari walked over to the poultry section, she felt Ia's hand tightly squeezing hers before letting go.

-xxx-

That night, as Yukari sat at her desk doing her homework, she heard a knocking at her window. Puzzled, she glanced up, and there was Ia, her face pressed against the window.

Yukari's eyes widened and she quickly ran over to the window, opening it. "Ia!" she practically shouted, before she realized that her parents were still in the house and she toned her voice down to a whisper, "what're you doing here?"

Ia fidgeted. "I….I didn't get you in trouble, did I?"

"N-no, of course not," Yukari said. In truth, she did - after coming back home, Yukari's father had a stern talk with her, all disappointed looks and quiet explanations that she couldn't live in her head forever - but Yukari didn't want her friend to worry.

Ia brightened up, though not by much. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah…be quiet, though," Yukari said, though she wasn't sure how much it mattered. Ia quickly clambered in, though she seemed to have some trouble lifting her body high enough, so Yukari helped her in. Ia tumbled in onto Yukari's bed, breathing heavily from the effort.

Despite herself, Yukari giggled a little. Ia looked so tired out, her limbs splayed from the effort, that it was kind of funny. "Can't you just appear in my room?"

Ia frowned. "It doesn't work that way. I'm just like you – I have to walk here."

Yukari's grin shrank a little. "Oh."

"Anyways…" Ia picked at her clothes, "I'm sorry I got you in trouble. I got…lonely, sitting by myself at the library all day."

Whenever Ia said stuff like that, Yukari couldn't help but to wonder if she was actually imaginary. It was always weird to her how Ia could remember events that happen when Yukari's not around, but not know a single thing about where she came from. She couldn't remember her last name, or where she lived, or where her parents were, and whether or not she had any siblings…but she _could_ remember reading books at the library while waiting for Yukari to finish school, and wandering the streets at night while waiting for Yukari to wake up.

The last part had always disturbed Yukari, a little. After all, _real_ people slept.

"It's okay," said Yukari, pushing away those thoughts and taking Ia's hand. "I'm not mad at you."

Ia smiled a little, but only just. "I wish other people can see me."

"Yeah…" said Yukari, looking down. If just one other person could see Ia, that would make all the difference. "I don't know why only I can."

"I'm glad I have you, though," said Ia. "You're the only one who can see me, so you're special."

Yukari smiled. Hearing that warmed her heart, and she decided to be bold. "Sometimes…" she said hesitantly, glancing up at Ia every so often as she spoke, "sometimes I'm happy I'm the only one."

To Yukari's surprise, Ia seemed to brighten up at that. "Really?"

"Yeah," Yukari admitted. "I don't have to share you."

Ia's smile grew wide, and she quickly clambered up to give Yukari a tight hug. "I don't want to share you either! Oh," Ia pulled back, all smiles now as her eyes looked all around the room, "you should show me your room!"

Yukari laughed. "It's not very big. You can see everything."

"So? You can still give me a tour!"

Well, Yukari supposed, she could. It was hard to refuse Ia when she was smiling at her like that, and with a wry grin Yukari got off the bed. "Alright, alright. So I keep all my toys over here…"

-xxx-

It was the weekend, and Yukari and Ia were laughing as they ran down the trail that overlooked the lagoon. It had started out with a simple game of catch, but now the ball was abandoned in the nearby playground for an impromptu game of tag. Ia was nimble, but Yukari was taller, and she used every bit of her height advantage she could to gain on her friend.

In times like these, Ia looked so happy and carefree, the wind whipping through her long hair, her blue eyes alight and sparkling with undeniable life. Her cheeks were faintly flushed from the exertion, and she ran with such energy that it was impossible to think of her as being imaginary. After all, how could it be that Yukari's mind came up with a being like Ia? She was so full of life, and ran and jumped and played just like any other kid. How did it matter, that Yukari was the only one who could see her? Why did that have to mean that she was imaginary?

"You're too slow!" Ia called back behind her shoulder, laughing.

The words spurred Yukari on, snapping her out of her thoughts. She was undeniably gaining on Ia, and was already imagining reaching her hand out to tag her.

Then, with a sharp yelp, Ia tripped and fell on the rocky trail.

Yukari's eyes went wide. "I-Ia!" She sprinted towards her, running faster than she did during the game, and quickly caught up to her, crouching down so that she could examine her friend. "Are you oka..."

The word died in her mouth when she saw it – a big, ugly, bleeding scrape down Ia's leg, and Yukari swallowed as her head went dizzy. She had never been good with blood, but Ia needed her, so Yukari worried at her lip and tried to remember what the doctors on TV did. They usually tore off some bit of their clothes to make a bandage, or something like that…but no matter how hard Yukari tugged at the cloth of her hoodie, it didn't rip off like it did on television.

Worry was beginning to fill her mind. Whenever Yukari got hurt, she had her parents, and she knew that for when she gets sick or really hurt, there were doctors and hospitals. However, what would happen when _Ia_ got hurt? No one else could see her…so it was up to Yukari to take of her.

"Don't worry, Ia," said Yukari, even though she was quite worried herself **.** "I'll…I'll take care of you," her hands were already out, and the words were coming out in a rush, "I can carry you back home, I have a lot of bandaids and stuff and—"

"No," said Ia quietly, staring down at her leg. "I'm fine."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" The gash was still there, bleeding freely. Yukari swallowed. Maybe Ia hit her head, too.

Ia closed her eyes and sighed and placed a hand on Yukari's shoulder. It seemed like she wanted to get up, and Yukari tried helping her, but Ia stood so quickly and with such strength that she nearly bowled Yukari backwards instead.

Then, Yukari saw Ia's knee again, but the gash was gone. All that remained was unbroken, milky skin, as though nothing had ever happened.

"What…" Yukari gasped, staring at the perfectly unbruised knee. She then drew her gaze back up to Ia, who was still standing, eyes half-hidden by her bangs. "You're…it's gone."

Ia nodded.

"I-is it," Yukari stuttered, "is it because you're…"

"Imaginary?" Ia finished, voice a dull monotone.

Unable to speak, Yukari nodded.

Ia sighed and abruptly slumped down to the ground again, so fast Yukari feared that she might really hurt herself. But Ia was fine, physically, even though her voice became more and more fragile the more she spoke. "I don't know. I still don't _feel_ imaginary."

"I…I guess you wouldn't," said Yukari, not knowing what else to say.

Ia bit her lip then, and her eyes became cloudy with tears. "Y-Yukari," she looked imploringly up at her, "does it matter? If I'm…real?"

Yukari swallowed. Ia was asking her so seriously that Yukari couldn't give anything _other_ than a serious answer. So, Yukari stayed quiet, thinking over the question, even though her prolonged silence made Ia cry harder. It did matter, right? After all…Yukari knew how other people looked at her. Both adults and kids stayed away from her now because she was weird. And she knew how her parents felt about it too, bewildered and helpless and disappointed in her, because she couldn't make any real friends.

But here was Ia, and the memory of Ia's clear laugh and cheerful expression was still fresh in Yukari's mind.

Yukari knew that there was no way she could give that up.

"You feel real to me," said Yukari.

A slow, tremulous smile broke out on Ia's face at that, and she threw her arms around Yukari, burying her face in her shoulder. Even though Ia was still all teary and snotty, Yukari didn't care, only hugging her friend back tightly.

It mattered…but Ia was so real to Yukari that somehow it didn't matter either. Yukari closed her eyes, and sunk herself further into the hug.

* * *

 **A/N: This one's a short chapter, so here's a quick update!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Arghh," Yukari groaned, putting her head on her desk. "Homework is awful."

Ia blinked, looking up from her book. "Do you need help?"

"Yeah…" Yukari sighed, scooching over on her seat so that Ia could clamber in and sit next to her. It was a little cramped, but Yukari didn't mind. "It's math homework. The worst of the worst."

"Oh," said Ia, gazing with great interest at the worksheet. Sometimes, Yukari thought that that was the clearest sign that Ia was imaginary – no _real_ kid would be so deeply interested in something as dreadful as homework. "Oh! I've seen these before! These are…averages?" she pronounced the word carefully.

"Yeah," said Yukari, pencil scritching the paper repetitively. "I hate them."

Ia frowned slightly, her blue eyes thoughtful. "I wish I could help more with that. The library doesn't really have a lot of math books. Oh," Ia brightened up, "how about I go to school with you?"

Yukari stared at Ia. "Wh-what?"

"Yeah!" Ia continued, excited. "It'll be fun! We can learn together! So far I can only help out with History and Japanese and stuff like that, but if I go to school with you, I can help you with all of your homework!"

Yukari bit her lip and looked down. While Ia was undeniably smart, and was generally very helpful with helping Yukari out with homework, Yukari didn't feel comfortable bringing her to school. While she knew that Ia was a good kid, and would probably be all quiet and non-distracting during class, Yukari didn't want to take the risk of something happening during lunchtime.

After all, Yukari was ten now, and people had only just started forgetting that she ever talked about Ia. She couldn't give up that now. She remembered the way her classmates had looked at her back then, as though she was some kind of freak. She remembered the pitying look in her parents' eyes, and the mild annoyance of her teacher's.

She couldn't go back to that, she knew. "Th-that's not a good idea. People are just now getting used to me. I don't…I don't want to be the weird kid again…"

Ia was silent for a few moments before Yukari felt her hand on her back. "That's okay," said Ia quietly. Yukari looked up, and saw that Ia was smiling, but it didn't feel quite as real as it should be. "How about you lend me your workbooks and stuff and I can look over them? I'll read them while you're at school, if you don't need them, or when you're working on other homework, or when you're sleeping. Then it'll be just like I went to school with you."

Yukari swallowed. The sweet sincerity of Ia's voice was making her want to cry. The older she got, the more aware she was of the divide between Ia and reality, the more aware she was of just how unacceptable it was to keep having an imaginary friend when she's this old. But Ia still didn't feel imaginary, and she was still Yukari's best friend, and Yukari still thought that she was the best and most fun girl in the world. Ia was worth a thousand other kids.

"Y-yeah," Yukari said, and Ia's face rapidly became alarmed.

"Yukari…don't cry," Ia stammered. "I'm…I'm sorry. I won't talk about going to school with you anymore."

The sadness of that sentence pushed Yukari fully over the edge. She started sobbing into her math homework then, and it was only after she was practically curled up into Ia, Ia clumsily rubbing her back, that the sobs abated, when Yukari's eyes were staring at the ground, but really, Yukari was staring at nothing at all.

-xxx-

"Yukari."

Yukari was spinning her pencil, wondering how Ia was doing with her math textbook.

"Yukari!"

That did it. Blinking, Yukari dropped her pencil and looked up at the source of the voice. To her astonishment, it was SeeU, with a heavy stack of notebook paper that she unceremoniously dumped on Yukari's desk. Yukari eyed it with some trepidation before staring up at her. What was this? SeeU hadn't spoken to her since they were five and she was making fun of Yukari for being friends with Ia.

"I suppose you wouldn't know what these are. These are-"

"Are these your notes?" Yukari asked.

SeeU scowled at the interruption, but she nodded anyways. "It looked like you were having trouble in class. So. Yeah."

"Um…why are you giving these to me?"

SeeU's scowl grew deeper as a slight blush colored her cheeks. "Why? Because…because you're hopeless in class, that's why! It's annoying. You even forgot your textbook today. So here're my notes."

Cul snickered behind SeeU. "SeeU _lik_ -"

"N-no!" SeeU protested, her face fully red now. "Shut up!"

Yukari was a little confused, but she decided to just go with it. "Um. Thank you."

"I'll go over them with you after school and stuff," SeeU said gruffly.

Yukari blinked, not entirely sure of what to make of this. "Um…okay."

"G-great!" SeeU said abruptly, picking up the notes. "After school! My house!"

"Y-yeah," said Yukari, as a slow, disbelieving happiness grew in her chest. Someone was actually inviting her to her house to hang out? "Sure."

-xxx-

After school, Yukari and SeeU headed off to SeeU's house together. Unlike Yukari, who lived in a neighborhood that was so far that she needed to get picked up and dropped off by the bus, SeeU lived within walking distance, so thankfully, they didn't need to carry the prodigiously heavy stack of notes too far.

SeeU's house was warm and cozy, a little bigger than Yukari's but so full of furniture and knick-knacks that it felt smaller. Upon seeing Yukari enter through the door, SeeU's mom smiled, much to Yukari's astonishment. She had somehow assumed that SeeU's mom would hate her because of what she told her mom back then about Ia being imaginary.

"Yukari!" SeeU's mom practically cooed. "I'm so glad to see that SeeU finally invited you over!"

"Really?" Yukari said, eyes wide at the strange new reality she found herself in.

SeeU's mom laughed. "Of course!"

Soon, Yukari and SeeU were up in SeeU's room, where SeeU proudly laid out her immaculate notes. Her handwriting was neat and really quite pretty – Yukari wondered how long it took her to make these.

"This stack is for all the stuff we did on the metric system," said SeeU, pointing at one. "And this one is for all the stuff about means and medians and modes."

"Wow," said Yukari, eyes wide. "SeeU, you're smart."

SeeU seemed to puff up at the compliment. "Of course!"

There was a bit of a silence then as Yukari flipped through the notes. Everything was laid out neatly and clearly. SeeU fidgeted with the hem of her shirt for a few seconds before speaking again, her voice quieter this time. "Sorry about making fun of you back then."

What? Yukari stared at SeeU, eyes wide. Could it be that maybe SeeU gets it? Could it be that maybe Yukari could tell SeeU about Ia?

But then SeeU continued, dashing all hopes. "It was mean of me. Imaginary friends weren't a big deal back then. We were five and stuff. Having one _now_ would be really weird though." SeeU laughed a little, but her laughter only brought Yukari a sick sense of shame.

Yukari felt her lips pull up in a forced smile. "Um…thanks for apologizing."

"Yeah…" said SeeU, scratching the back of her head. She seemed ill-at-ease, though Yukari wasn't really sure why. "I have a basketball court in my backyard. Do you wanna, um," she affected casualness with a shrug of the shoulders, "shoot…uh…some hoops?"

Yukari's eyes widened. Even though SeeU sounded a little awkward, Yukari was still happy. She had never played with anyone other than Ia, ever since she moved here. "Yeah!"

SeeU blinked, eyes widening slightly at Yukari's response, before a smile spread on her face. "Great!" She clambered up to her feet. "Let's play!"

-xxx-

It was dark when Yukari got back home, and she was humming happily, practically skipping. She and SeeU had agreed to hang out the very next day, and SeeU even said that she'll bring her other friends too so that they could all play a big game of basketball. While Yukari had never really played it before, she was pretty good at landing the ball in the hoop and blocking SeeU's shots. SeeU had pouted and said that it's because Yukari was tall, but she was half-smiling as she said it so Yukari got the sense that SeeU didn't mind the fact at all.

This was great, Yukari thought. She was making friends now, and she felt on top of the world. She felt that all the way til she reached her house and saw Ia sitting on her stoop, legs drawn up and head buried in her knees, math textbook next to her.

"Ia…?" Yukari said quietly.

Ia raised her head, and Yukari nearly flinched at her red eyes and tearstained cheeks. "Y…Yukari!" Ia stood up. "Where were you? I was worried!"

Yukari shifted her grip on her backpack uneasily as guilt crept into her body. "I was…I was at SeeU's place."

"SeeU? You mean…Kim Si Yu?" Ia's brow furrowed. "I thought you…I thought you hated her."

"I…I mean…n-not really…" Yukari said awkwardly. "She's nice now."

Ia's face fell. "Oh." A brief silence, then: "So…are you two…friends now?"

Yukari couldn't look at Ia's face – not when Ia was looking at her with those wide eyes. "I think so."

A silence stretched on between them, and Yukari felt worse and worse by the second. She wasn't even sure why – after all, kids were supposed to outgrow their imaginary friends, right? So why did Yukari feel so awful?

"You didn't even tell me that you were going," Ia said, her voice small. "I waited for you all day."

Yukari swallowed the lump in her throat. "I…I…"

"I bet you thought you didn't _need_ to tell me," said Ia, her tone of voice suddenly shifting. Startled, Yukari looked back up. She had never heard Ia like this before – so hurt, and so _angry._ Tears were dripping down Ia's face, and her hands were clenched into fists. "I bet…I bet it's because you think I'm _imaginary,_ so you don't think you need to tell me anything. You probably don't even think that I was _really_ waiting for you all day."

Yukari wanted to deny it, wanted to say something, anything to make that awful expression on Ia's face go away, but she couldn't. After all, Ia was right – Yukari really _did_ have a hard time imagining Ia waiting for her. She was imaginary, right? How could she possibly wait?

Deep hurt flashed in Ia's eyes, and Yukari nearly flinched. "Well then," Ia spat, "I guess it's good you got yourself some _real_ friends. I guess you can spend all day with _SeeU_ now."

"Ia…I-I'm supposed to…outgrow my imaginary friends," Yukari recited the words as though it was some spell she memorized. "That's what everyone says."

Right – her parents, her teachers, her classmates, and even SeeU, this afternoon. That was what Yukari had been told, ever since she met Ia. And yet, here she was, at ten years old, and Ia was still standing before her, every inch as real as when Yukari first met her.

At Yukari's words, however, Ia's face crumpled. All the anger she had earlier flickered out like a blown candle, leaving only betrayal and hurt spreading in her eyes like black ink. "...oh. So you're…outgrowing me."

Silence yawned out between them like an abyss. Yukari wanted to take back her words and stuff them back into her mouth, but she wasn't sure if she should. Everyone said that imaginary friends past five were unhealthy and crazy. Yukari didn't want to be crazy. But it was tearing her apart to watch Ia like this too, eyes hidden, carrying herself as though she was trying to shield herself from some great and terrible hurt.

Yukari couldn't stand it. "Ia-"

"I'm leaving," Ia said abruptly, walking past Yukari, refusing to meet her eyes, thrusting the textbook into Yukari's hands. "Here's your book. I guess you don't need my help anymore, now that you have SeeU _._ "

"Ia," Yukari said, turning around, but Ia was storming away now, first walking, then breaking out into a full out run down the street. Yukari could only watch her go, helpless as her throat worked, but no words came.

-xxx-

"There she is!" said Cul, throwing her arm around Yukari's shoulders after school. "I hear you're crazy good at basketball."

Yukari nearly jumped out of her skin from the unexpected contact, but it soon faded to disbelieving happiness. She had never been so… _accepted,_ before. "I'm okay," said Yukari.

"We should play some," said Cul cheerily. "We can get you, me, SeeU, Miki…" Cul listed off a whole bunch of names that Yukari never imagined would ever spend the time of day with her. "We can all go to SeeU's house!"

"Yeah!" said Yukari, smiling widely, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her – Ia, standing near the fence, staring right at her.

All at once, Yukari's blood ran cold.

"Um, hang on a minute," she said. "I forgot something."

Cul blinked puzzledly, but smiled anyways. "Yeah, okay. Meet you with everyone in front of the school gates!"

"Sure," said Yukari, and she broke out in a run. She caught up with Ia, who was looking at her with some expression she couldn't quite identify, and kept walking. Ia obediently followed after her, and once Yukari judged that they were in a safe enough location, she turned around.

"What are you _doing_ here?" Yukari asked, but with her agitation and consciousness of being caught, the words came out sharper than she intended, so it sounded more like a hiss.

Apparently Ia took it that way too, for she scowled and squared her shoulders. "Don't yell at me."

"I'm…it's just that I told you not to come to school."

Ia glared at Yukari, her blue eyes challenging. "You can't tell me what to do. You can only do that if I'm _really_ imaginary."

"W-well-"

"And if I'm here _and_ I'm imaginary, that must mean you _want_ me here, right?"

Yukari wasn't sure how to respond to that. Ia had a good point. She decided to change the subject instead. "Why are you here?"

The bravado that held Ia together faded, and she slumped a little. "I…I don't like fighting with you."

"You could've waited till after school…"

Ia's voice became sharp. "Don't you have _plans_ after school?"

"Oh…um…" Yukari trailed off.

Tears filled Ia's eyes. "R-really, Yukari? Don't you _want_ to be my friend anymore?"

Yukari dropped her gaze. When she next spoke, her words were leaden and guilty. "I do! It's just that…I want some _real_ friends too."

Ia broke out into sobs then – real, deep sobs. Yukari stood there helplessly, hands half-outstretched. She wanted to comfort Ia, but at the same time, she was still on school grounds. Someone could come at _any minute,_ and then Yukari's life would be over. She would be that crazy girl again, and no one would want to be friends with her at all.

"I'm sorry," Ia hiccupped between her words, "I'm sorry I'm not _real enough_ for you." With that, she ran off again, leaving Yukari behind.

Yukari's eyes widened and she took a step forward, hand out. "No! Ia, wait—"

"Oh my," said a voice, and a coldness ran down Yukari's spine like a bucket of ice. She whirled around, only to see Mayu, leaning against the wall and looking speculatively at her with her eerie yellow eyes.

Yukari wanted to cry. It wasn't fair. She had spent all these years hiding and sneaking and never breathing a word about Ia to anyone, but now here was Mayu, looking at her as though she had stumbled upon a particularly delicious bit of gossip. Yukari could imagine herself being made fun of as the crazy girl all over again. The one bit of solace Yukari had though was that Mayu wasn't exactly very popular – she was kind of weird, too, so people never really talked to her.

But still.

"Wh-what do you want?" Yukari looked down, made her voice gruff. "What're you doing here?"

Mayu smiled cheerily. "Oh, this and that. I heard you talking to someone."

"No I wasn't," Yukari said, but her voice had no force in it.

"Don't lie, Yukari," said Mayu. "It's not proper. You were talking to someone named 'Ia'. That's who you got in trouble for talking about when we were kids, right?"

Yukari was silent. She wanted to make Mayu shut up somehow – to grab her, or cover her mouth. She could imagine Mayu talking about this to everyone at school.

Mayu's eyes softened. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

Yukari looked up, eyes wide with disbelieving hope. "R-really?"

"Yeah," said Mayu with a shrug. "Our classmates are jerks. They just don't understand people like you and me."

Yukari wasn't exactly sure what Mayu meant by putting her in that category, but she smiled anyways, slow and tremulous. "You don't think I'm…crazy?"

"I dunno, what does 'crazy' even mean?" Mayu asked, looking into the distance. A brief silence, then: "Maybe you should go after her. You sounded worried."

Yukari chewed her lip and looked out in the direction of the school gate, where she knew her friends were waiting. Half of her – well, okay, more than half of her – wanted to run after Ia. It was all she wanted to do – to run after her and hug her and comfort her. But Ia was long gone now, and Yukari knew all too well the price she would have to pay if she started acting weird again. Mayu might understand, but the other kids certainly won't.

Mayu sighed. "Or not. Maybe Ia will understand. If she's actually imaginary."

Yukari's breath hitched and she looked at Mayu. "You think Ia could be…real?"

"She could be," said Mayu. "I don't know. I've never seen her. But what's imaginary, and what's real, anyways? When people ignore you," Mayu spoke the words flatly, "it feels like you might as well be imaginary."

Yukari looked down at her shoes for a moment before looking up at Mayu. "Y-yeah…thanks."

Mayu shrugged and smiled. "Anytime."

-xxx-

At the school gates, Yukari made hasty excuses to SeeU and her friends, mumbling something about how her mom _really_ wanted her to help out with decorating the house, and to her grateful surprise, her newfound friends accepted it easily, with some supportive groaning and grousing about how moms could be.

On the way back home, Yukari sat in the bus and looked out the window, squinting to see the playground. Ia wasn't there, though, and Yukari felt a brief throb of panic in her heart. What if Ia was really hurt, and decided to never show up around Yukari again? The thought was enough to make Yukari sick.

Thankfully, as the bus pulled up to Yukari's place to drop her off, Ia was there, sitting on the stoop. She looked so sad and forlorn that all Yukari wanted to do was hug her…just not right out on the street, of course.

"Ia," said Yukari, walking up to her. "Do you wanna go to my room?"

Ia sniffled a little and nodded. Soon, the two of them were sitting on Yukari's bed, Ia staring down at her toes.

"I'm sorry about yelling at you, and hurting you, today," said Yukari, rocking a little on the bed as she tried to think over her words. "But…it really is too dangerous if you come to school with me. Someone…someone heard me today."

"R-really?" Ia jolted up, staring at Yukari with wide eyes. "Who?"

"Mayu," said Yukari. "But she promised not to tell anyone. I don't know if…I'll be so lucky next time, though."

"Oh…" said Ia, dropping her gaze and drawing her knees up to her chest. There was a silence before she spoke again, her voice quiet. "I…I wish other people could see me. I don't want to be like this. I wish I could be like everyone else, with a house and parents and other friends."

For some reason, hearing Ia say that she wanted other friends hurt a little. Yukari was so used to only having Ia to herself that even hearing Ia express the thought came as a little bit of a shock. However, Yukari definitely understood where Ia was coming from. After all, Yukari wanted other friends, too.

"I...I wish everyone else can see you too. And…I don't want to outgrow you," said Yukari quietly. "But I don't want to not have other friends, either."

Ia sighed. "I know. It's just…it's just not fair. You can have as many friends as you want, but all I'll be able to have is you, and it feels like you're leaving me more and more."

Yukari looked down. She wasn't sure what to say. Ia was still the most important friend in Yukari's life, and the last thing Yukari wanted was to hurt her. But at the same time, Yukari wasn't sure how she could balance Ia with her new friends…especially since she had to hide that she still talked to Ia from them.

Still, Yukari knew that she had to try. Otherwise, she'll end up hurting Ia all over again, and the last thing she wanted was to do that.

"I'll think of something," Yukari said, leaning forward to hold Ia's hand. "Don't worry."

Ia sniffled a little and nodded, though her face was still down so Yukari couldn't see her expression. In the silence, Yukari stroked the back of Ia's hand, and tried to think of what she could possibly do.

* * *

 **A/N: I couldn't resist the reference I put in here.**


	4. Chapter 4

Yukari was thirteen when the topic of crushes and boys started appearing in her talks with her friends at school. It started out slowly – a mere patter of light mentions sprinkled innocuously in conversation before school, at school, and after school, so few that at first Yukari didn't really pay attention to it. Then, it rapidly accelerated, and soon Yukari found to her confusion that her friends were completely boy-crazy.

"Look at him," Cul groaned, head on the table, clearly not looking at anyone at all.

"Who?" said Yukari, more out of polite interest than anything else.

Cul jerked her thumb in some nebulous direction. "Yuuma, of course!"

Yukari looked over, but it didn't seem like Yuuma was doing anything particularly special other than eating his food with his friends. He looked exactly the same he did yesterday, and the day before that.

" _Geez_ , Cul," said SeeU disgustedly. "Isn't he with…um…Gumi?"

"No, they were never together," said Miki out of nowhere, munching on her shrimp chips. "They just go to the same choir."

"He's still gross," said SeeU, her voice solemn. "I heard he held hands with her and _everything_."

Cul rolled her eyes. "That's just what Mayu said. She doesn't know anything. She's just weird."

Yukari cringed a little at that. She always felt a little uncomfortable whenever her friends made fun of Mayu for being weird. After all, she was in Mayu's position not so long ago. "Mayu's…smart," said Yukari carefully. "And she _is_ good at noticing things."

Cul rolled her eyes at Yukari good-naturedly before putting her head on her desk. "Why doesn't Yuuma ever talk to me?"

"Why do you want him to talk to you, anyways?" SeeU scoffed. "He seems boring."

"Cul just wants Yuuma to talk to her because he's hot," said Miki, munching away on her chips.

At that, Cul's face went almost as red as her hair. "Y-you….Miki!"

Yukari frowned and looked over at Yuuma again. _Was_ he? She tilted her head, examining him, trying to see what it was about him that made both Miki and Cul think he's 'hot'. But all she saw was the same quiet boy she always saw, black beanie on his messy hair, chewing on his food and smiling at his friends' jokes. Nothing especially special.

"I don't get it," said Yukari.

Miki sighed. "Geez, Yukari, you're still such a kid."

Yukari frowned. She had never taken kindly to being called a 'kid', especially given how, well…she still talked to and saw Ia. "I'm _not_ a kid."

"Oh yeah?" Cul joined in. "I don't see _you_ talking to boys."

SeeU rolled her eyes. "Yukari doesn't _need_ to talk to b-"

But by then, Yukari had stood up, scowling fully now. "Fine."

"Fine?" SeeU said, eyes wide. "Fine wha…where are you going?"

"I'm gonna talk to Yuuma," said Yukari.

Cul and Miki's eyes goggled at her, and SeeU looked distinctly put out. "What? No you're n-"

But Yukari had already left, marching across the classroom to where Yuuma was sitting. She still wasn't really sure how any of this was a big deal, but she could see that this was somehow important to her friends, and Yukari didn't want to back down from the implicit challenge. "Hi Yuuma."

Yuuma blinked at her, clearly surprised. "H…hi, Yukari."

"Um…" Yukari swept her gaze round the cluster of desks around Yuuma's. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Oh, ah, sure," said Yuuma, moving his stuff aside, and Yukari sat down, promptly taking back out her lunch.

"So math homework was pretty hard last night," Yukari said, for lack of any other conversational gambits – she didn't really know Yuuma or his friends that well, and homework was always a surefire conversation opener.

Yuuma smiled as his friends laughed in agreement. "Yeah, seriously. I was up all night working on it."

Yukari blinked. From her vantage point, she could see her friends staring at her in plain astonishment, though Yukari wasn't really sure why. What was with all the big fuss about talking to Yuuma? This was easy.

-xxx-

"Hey, Ia?" said Yukari. They were sitting on the swingset, idly swinging and looking out at the trees, when the question had occurred to Yukari, and once it did, she couldn't _not_ ask. It really was bugging her, after all. "What can you tell when a boy is 'hot'?"

"Hot?" Ia said. There was a slight frown on her face.

"Yeah, you know. Hot."

"Um…I dunno," said Ia. "Maybe when he's handsome or something."

"Huh," said Yukari, thinking it over. That made sense. Yuuma was okay, she guessed. He was one of the more handsome boys in her class. But did that make him hot? Frowning, Yukari looked at her feet.

"Why do you ask?" said Ia.

"Cul and Miki both think Yuuma is hot."

"Yuuma…" said Ia slowly, brow furrowing. "Ryugu Yuuma? The boy who moved here a couple of years ago, with the beanie?"

Ia was really good at faces and names, and prided herself on the fact. Apparently, during the day, while waiting for Yukari to come back from school, whenever she wasn't at the library, Ia was hanging around all the walkable parts of Yamaha (and for Ia, who had hours to herself, all the walkable parts of Yamaha were quite far). Thus, she spent so much time just watching people that she remembered all their faces and names.

"Yeah, that's him," Yukari confirmed. "I talked with him today. And he asked me if I wanted to go to his house and do homework with him." She felt a little proud of the fact; her friends had been so amazed at it, as though it was some crazy feat she accomplished. She looked over at Ia, half-expecting her to react the same way.

Instead, Ia didn't, only biting her lip and looking down. "Oh. Are you gonna?"

"I guess so," said Yukari. "I don't see why not."

"Oh," said Ia. "When?"

"Um, tomorrow, I guess," said Yukari. "I should be back around dinnertime." She wasn't really sure why Ia was acting so strange all of a sudden. Ia had sworn that she understood Yukari's need for other friends, and true to her word, she complained about it much less these days, even though sometimes she still looked so sad about it that Yukari wanted to stay home with her all day anyways. But at any rate, Yuuma was just one more friend to add to the list, right?

"Oh," said Ia, again, and abruptly she got up from the swings. Yukari glanced up, surprised. "I'm…I'm gonna go."

"What?" said Yukari. "Why?" Where could Ia go? She had no home, and no one else who could see her.

Ia shook her head quickly. "I…I dunno, I just gotta go do something." With that, Ia dashed off, leaving Yukari swinging alone, Yukari staring dumbly after her. She thought she saw Ia's cheeks redden as she ran, thought she saw Ia bring a hand up to rub at her eyes…but why would Ia feel so sad about that?

Frowning, Yukari backed her swing up and tried to swing as high as she could. Why was everyone acting so weird today?

-xxx-

That night, Yukari couldn't sleep. Ia didn't come to see her that night, as she usually did, and Yukari tossed and turned, worrying about her friend. In her mind's eye, she saw Ia's wounded expression, and tried as hard as she could to summon her friend back.

But for someone who was supposedly imaginary, Ia wasn't very good at listening to Yukari's mental commands, if she did at all. It was just another one of those weird things that made Yukari wonder just how imaginary Ia really was.

After all, whenever Yukari talked with Mayu about it, Mayu had always seemed fairly convinced that Ia was real, and would often try to find her. But since Yukari and Mayu only talked at school, Ia was never there. Indeed, ever since that time when Yukari yelled at her, Ia had stayed true to her word and never showed up at school again. It would be nice, though, thought Yukari, for Mayu and Ia to be in the same area together. Ia would surely be happy at the idea that someone else knew about her and was looking for her too.

But at the same time, there was a sharp prick in Yukari's heart at the thought of sharing Ia with others. While she still wished that others could see her, so that she could prove once and for all that she wasn't crazy, a part of her was happy that she had Ia all to herself. While it was sad and lonely for Ia, Yukari never had to worry about Ia directing her sweet smile and quiet laughs to someone else.

It was utterly selfish of her, and Yukari hated that she felt that way…but she couldn't _stop_ herself from feeling it either.

With a sigh, Yukari rolled to her side, staring out her window.

-xxx-

"Where do you wanna study?" asked Yukari, slipping off her shoes and looking curiously around Yuuma's house. It was fairly nice, all sleek and monochrome. It didn't really look like a fun place for a kid to grow up, though – everything seemed kind of _adult,_ in a way, right down to the abstract paintings on the wall and the weird, lumpy-looking chairs.

Yuuma's cheeks reddened a little bit. "Um, anywhere is cool. My parents are out, so we can study wherever we want."

"Oh, okay," said Yukari. "I'm okay with wherever." She figured that Yuuma would know the best place to study in his own house, anyways.

Yuuma turned even redder. "We can study up in my room," he volunteered quietly, and with a shrug Yukari agreed.

Yuuma's room was a little more colorful than the rest of the house, though not by much. The only splashes of adolescent personality were in the band posters tacked up on the wall and the card games littered on his desk, and Yukari examined them with interest.

"We can sit down on the floor or something and study," Yuuma suggested, and Yukari agreed, plopping herself down, unzipping her backpack, and taking out her materials. Yuuma did the same, spreading them out. After a brief conference, they decided to start with math, and soon they were bellies down on the floor, looking at their textbooks.

Ia had been doing her best to explain algebra to Yukari, but Yukari still didn't really get it. SeeU tried too, but even with her detailed notes, Yukari wasn't all that good at it either. The idea of letters in place of numbers were still weird to her, and just the word 'variables' was intimidating; it was a bunch of weird syllables stuck together that didn't really make much sense. But maybe Yuuma would be good at explaining too.

"So…do you know how to do problem one?" asked Yuuma.

…or not. Maybe he wouldn't be much help after all. "Yeah. You have to bring the 3 over to the other side, so you just divide."

"Oh," said Yuuma. "Okay. Thanks. Let me know if you need any help too."

Yukari nodded, and she carefully worked down the list of problems, occasionally glancing over at her textbook for help. To her surprise, she was actually doing better than she thought. Ia's lessons were coming to her mind clearly, and she was solving problems faster than she thought she could. Maybe it's because it was just easier to concentrate here. Or maybe Yukari had just gotten so used to asking Ia for help that she never really bothered thinking all the way through the problems first.

"Um…" said Yuuma, chewing on the end of his pencil, "do you know how to do problem ten?"

"Yeah," said Yukari. "I think you have to use the quadratic formula."

"Wow," said Yuuma. "You're really smart."

Yukari furrowed her eyebrows. Really?

Steadily, they finished their math homework, and were halfway through history when Yukari glanced up at the clock and realized that she had to get back home for dinner.

"Sorry…I have to go home now," said Yukari, putting her things away. "My parents want me back for dinner."

Yuuma nodded seriously, getting up. "Okay. I'll walk you out."

At Yuuma's door, Yukari paused and looked around. The house was utterly quiet – it didn't seem like there was a single soul other than Yuuma inside. The concept was mind-boggling to her. Yuuma wasn't like Ia, who was invisible and didn't remember her home and family; he was a real boy, but it was dinner time, and his parents weren't here yet. "Are your parents gonna make dinner for you?"

Yuuma looked down, shuffling his feet. "No," he admitted. "I have some pizza in the fridge though, so I can just eat that."

"Wow," said Yukari, her eyes going wide. All at once, she felt a rush of sympathy for Yuuma, all alone in his desolate house. "Well…" Yukari smiled at him, "pizza is pretty good."

Yuuma smiled back. "Yeah. It could be something worse, like natto."

"Yeah, that'd just be gross," said Yukari, laughing, and Yuuma laughed too. Their chuckles faded into silence. Yukari opened her mouth to say goodbye.

But then, before the words could come out, Yuuma quickly leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Yukari's eyes widened. She wasn't really sure what to do, so she just stood there, at loss. It felt weird and kind of awkward; he was _really_ close, and the angle was a little weird, and Yukari didn't know where to put her hands, and his lips were a little dry.

"Um," said Yukari when Yuuma pulled back.

"That was…nice," said Yuuma quietly, looking at her expectantly.

Was it nice? It didn't really set Yukari's heart afire or anything, like what first kisses were supposed to feel like in books. But it wasn't _terrible,_ either. It wasn't like Yuuma bit her or anything like that.

"Um," said Yukari, again. "Yeah."

Yuuma bit his lip, and he looked back down at his feet. "Well," he said, "that was a good study session anyways."

"Yeah," said Yukari quickly. There was a steady awkwardness building up between them that Yukari wanted to dispel as soon as possible, and she papered over the kiss with her words. "We got like, all of math done!"

"Maybe we can do it again sometime?" Yuuma said, looking up at her with clear hope written in his eyes.

Yukari shuffled her feet. After what had just happened, she wasn't exactly in a rush to hang out with Yuuma one on one for a while. What if he kissed her again? Yukari wasn't sure if she could take the awkwardness. "Yeah. M-maybe we can get some of our friends and do it all together. More heads are better, right?"

Yuuma frowned slightly. "I guess." His eyes roved past her, and he was looking in the distance when he finally said, "I'll see you at school tomorrow, anyways."

"Yeah," said Yukari with a quick smile, and she headed back home. She decided to walk this time around; Yuuma's house was at the midpoint between her and school, and the walk gave her plenty of time to think about her study session with Yuuma. Though, all things considered, would it be a date instead? Yuuma _did_ kiss her, after all. Though, in books and movies, dates seemed a little more exciting than just sitting in someone's house doing homework.

Yukari frowned, looking down at her feet. As far as kisses went, this wasn't at all how Yukari envisioned her first kiss to be. She had thought that it would be something that was exciting, something that would be built up to after a while of nervous anticipation, an event that would set her heart afire. This, though…this was just awkward and dry and not at all that pleasant. Would it have been better with a different guy?

Yukari considered her male classmates. Somehow she didn't feel like any of them would be much better.

As Yukari neared the park where she spent her time with Ia, she glanced over expectantly. Sure enough, there was Ia, kicking her legs on the bench as she read a book. At seeing her, Yukari brightened up. Maybe Ia would be able to explain everything.

"Hey, Ia," said Yukari, walking up to her, smiling.

Ia glanced up from her book, and Yukari's smile shrank. Ia didn't seem especially enthused to see her. "Hi. How was studying with Yuuma?"

Yukari sat down next to Ia. "It was okay. We did math homework and half of history."

"Hmm," said Ia noncommittally.

"And, well…" Yukari kept her eyes fixed on her shoes as she felt her cheeks heat slightly. Even though the kiss itself wasn't super great, it was still embarrassing to talk about. "Afterwards, he…he kissed me."

Ia nearly jumped out of her seat. "He…he _kissed_ you?"

"Yeah," said Yukari, daring to look up at her friend, wondering if she was impressed in any way by it.

But all she saw was Ia frowning. "Did you like it?"

"Um…it was okay," said Yukari, picking at her hoodie uneasily.

Ia looked at Yukari for a moment longer before sighing and bringing her eyes back to her book. Yukari bit her lip. Ia seemed upset somehow. Was it because she wanted to kiss Yuuma too? But Yukari had to admit that that didn't make much sense. After all, Ia had never so much as mentioned Yuuma. Besides, if everyone else could see Ia, Yukari was sure that she could kiss anyone she wanted. She's really good-looking, after all – even Yukari knew that. Her eyes were such a clear, dreamy blue, the color of the sky on a perfect spring day, framed by dark lashes on milky, delicate skin that practically glowed. In short…Ia was beautiful, the most beautiful girl Yukari knew.

The thought of Ia kissing anyone, though…somehow it made Yukari feel a little sad.

Soon Yukari realized that she was doing nothing other than staring at her friend, and, feeling her cheeks heat up, she quickly looked away. "Well…I didn't _really_ like it," Yukari continued.

Inexplicably, Ia's voice brightened, and when Yukari looked back at her, Ia was looking at her again. "Really? But isn't kissing supposed to be nice?"

"Yeah…I dunno," Yukari sighed and brushed a hand through her hair, "it just felt all weird and awkward. But everyone else thinks he's hot. It should've been nice, right?"

"Maybe it'll be better with someone else?"

Yukari frowned slightly. "I dunno…I…" she sighed and looked back down at her hands, "I don't really think any of the boys in my class would change anything."

"Well," said Ia, "we're only thirteen. I think that might be a little young for dating, anyways."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Ia. "In all the books I read, most people do the whole kissing thing in high school. I don't really think about boys, either."

Yukari brightened up. "Really?" Even though Ia might be imaginary, it was still nice to hear the same sentiment from her friend.

Ia's cheeks reddened a little. "Y-yeah."

-xxx-

The next day in class, Yuuma tried to catch Yukari's eye, though Yukari resolutely avoided it, studiously paying attention in class as much as she could. She wasn't sure what to say to him, and she didn't want to perpetrate any sort of misunderstanding, so she avoided him right up until lunch, when Yuuma approached Yukari and her friends.

"H-hey, Yukari," said Yuuma, looking rather ill-at-ease with how nakedly everyone was staring at him. "Do you wanna…" he cleared his throat, "do you wanna hang out again today?"

Yukari glanced around. She wished they were anywhere other than in the crowded classroom during lunch. Yuuma seemed shy, but he could be surprisingly oblivious to social situations. Didn't he know that by doing something like this, he was letting the whole class know? But maybe Yukari was just more sensitive to such things, having spent her time hiding away a part of herself. "Sorry…I can't."

"Oh," Yuuma said. "Um. How about the weekend?"

Yukari chewed her lip, glanced around again, and lowered her voice. "I…I think you're really nice. And I'd think it'd be great if we were friends. But…" she spoke the next part so quietly that it was nearly a whisper, " _just_ friends."

Yuuma's face fell, but it was only for an instant. Indeed, to Yukari's relief, he didn't seem like he was about to cry or anything. In fact, it seemed almost like he expected it. "Oh. Okay. Yeah. I'll, uh, I'll see you later." With that, he swiveled around and walked quickly away, back to his desk.

There was a brief silence, then Yukari's friends erupted into pandemonium.

"Yukari!" Cul stuttered, eyes wide. "Did you just… _reject_ Yuuma?"

"That's great!" SeeU said, practically beaming. "He's gross anyways."

"Geez, SeeU, I have _no_ idea what your taste is," Miki sighed, before casting a speculative glance over at Yuuma. "Anyways, do you think I have a chance? Should I ask now while he's sad?"

-xxx-

On the way back home, Yukari sat on the bus and thought about Ia. Ever since yesterday, when she let herself notice and think about – _really_ think about – how attractive Ia was, she found that she couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't just purely how she looked, either – it was how she acted. That look she would get on her face when thinking about something, the way her smile would shift lopsidedly to one side when embarrassed, the way she laughed, all soft giggles that only Yukari could hear. It was the way she was so patient and kind, the way she gave such good advice on things. Even though Ia didn't really have much experience herself, she always seemed to know the right thing to say. And she was smart too, clever in a way that Yukari wasn't. Ia always seemed to be able to connect things together and view things in ways that Yukari didn't even consider.

Yukari felt the back of her neck and her cheeks heat up just thinking about it, and wondered if Ia felt the same way about her. Yukari had never really thought much about how attractive she herself was, but Yuuma seemed to think that she looked okay, at any rate. And she was pretty good at running and jumping and athletic stuff like that. That seemed promising, at least.

The bus passed the park, and as always Yukari peered out to see what Ia was doing. From what Yukari could see, Ia was reading on the bench, lying belly-down and paging through some paperback. At the sight of her, Yukari felt her heart beat a little faster, and she ducked back into her seat as the heat in her cheeks grew.

When Yukari got off the bus, she walked over to the park as she always did, and saw Ia, standing and squinting against the sun as she waited for her, paperback in hand.

"H-hey," said Yukari, stopping in front of her.

"No date today?" asked Ia, a little abruptly.

Yukari's smile faltered, again. Ia sounded like she wasn't especially happy, but why? Yukari quickly ran over their conversation yesterday. It had ended fine. Nothing had really happened. Did Yukari do something wrong again? "N-no. I told you, I don't like Yuuma that way…"

Ia's eyes softened a little bit, and she sighed and ran a hand through her long, tangled hair. "I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Just what?" Yukari prompted, softly.

"It's just, it's not fair," Ia said, looking away. "You can talk to anyone you want. Be friends with anyone you want. Go on dates with whoever you want. Kiss whoever you want."

"Oh..." Guilt invaded Yukari's heart. It hurt a little, to know that Ia resented her. She hadn't really brought up the topic again, not since that time years ago when they were ten. Somehow, Yukari had assumed that maybe Ia thought less about it…but looking at Ia now, whose face was rapidly reddening, whose eyes were blinking fast to suppress tears, it was clear that she didn't. But how could she? If Ia was real…a real girl, who's not imaginary, a real girl that no one other than Yukari would see…it would only be natural to feel this way. It was, Yukari thought with painful intensity, her heart throbbing at the thought, an awful, lonely life Ia lived.

"I'll…I'll never get to make any friends with anyone," said Ia, speaking quickly, as though she wanted to get all the words out before the gates of her throat closed. "No one else can see me. No one else can talk to me. So no one will ever look at me, and no one will ever play with me, and no one will ever kiss me."

"I…I can," said Yukari, before she even realized what she said. Once the words were out of her mouth though, her eyes almost instantly widened as a flood of fire rushed into her cheeks. What did she just say? But it was only a moment's hesitation, because after she spoke it, she knew that it was what she meant, and what she wanted. "I…I can kiss you."

Ia's head jerked up. "What?"

"I-if you'll let me," Yukari said quietly, feeling as though her heart was about to beat off the edge of a cliff.

Ia's eyes widened before she drew in a deep breath, turning to face Yukari resolutely. "O-okay."

Yukari swallowed. "Okay." She stepped forward cautiously. She didn't have a lot of experience, other than that awkward kiss with Yuuma, and she hoped that she didn't mess it up. The last thing she wanted was to make Ia's first kiss awful. Once she judged that she was close enough, she squeezed her eyes shut, like she saw in movies, and leaned in.

Ia's lips were soft against hers, and gentle. At once, Yukari knew that this was way different than kissing Yuuma, a hundred times different, a thousand times better. Yukari's pulse raced, and she didn't think at all about the awkwardness or the angle of their heads or anything. All she could think about, all she could feel, was the feeling of Ia's lips against hers.

After a moment, Yukari drew back, face flushed red. She peeked her eyes open, daring to look. She was half-afraid – maybe it wasn't as good for Ia as it was for her. If that was the case…Yukari's chest tightened. How stupid could she have been? If Ia _hated_ it, then…then…what would happen to them? What would happen to…

But instead, to her vast relief, Yukari saw only Ia's smile, and breathing out a breath of heavy relief, Yukari smiled too.

"So…" said Yukari, blushing. "Was that…good?"

Ia's face was red too, and she looked down at the ground shyly. "Y-yeah. How about you? Was it better than…"

"A million times better," Yukari assured her.

She was sure she must have the most ridiculous grin on her face…but that didn't matter.

After all, Ia had one too.


	5. Chapter 5

"Yukari!"

Yukari turned, eyes wide. There was Cul, jogging towards her, waving an arm enthusiastically as she weaved her way through the paths of the park.

Yukari felt her insides turn numb at the sight

"Geez, Yukari," said Cul, laughing as she approached her, "what're you doin' standing around this playground by yourself?"

Yukari had to physically fight the urge to turn and look at Ia, whose hand she was holding. Slowly, reluctantly, she let go of Ia's hand, feeling her thin fingers slip through her own, and swung her arm, trying to act like she got a cramp. "Not much," said Yukari, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Just, y'know…chilling. What're you doing here? I thought you lived up in SSW."

"What, a girl can't make her way down to see her friend?" asked Cul, affecting woundedness. "I was just walking over to your place, but then I saw you here."

Ia was standing quietly next to Yukari, but that didn't make a difference. Even if Ia started shouting or jumping, Cul wouldn't see or hear a single thing.

Yukari swallowed. If Cul had come scant moments earlier, she would have seen Yukari talking and laughing with thin air. If she had come even a few minutes earlier, she might even have seen Yukari kiss invisible lips. The mere thought of it was enough to make Yukari feel sick, like her guts were twisting all around her insides. That was close, far too close.

There were many complications, Yukari had realized, with dating an invisible girl.

"Anyways," said Cul cheerily,"wanna hang out? SeeU's at _violin practice,_ " she rolled her eyes, "and Miki's hanging out with her boyfriend."

"Um…" said Yukari, caught between Cul and Ia. She had planned a date with Ia today, not that they could really go out and do much, but Yukari wanted to take her to see a movie at least. In the dark, with everyone's eyes fixed on the screen, it was one of the only places where Ia could lose herself in the story of the film and forget about her own invisibility. But if Yukari refused Cul now, it would look weird. After all, from Cul's point of view, all Yukari was doing was standing by herself in a playground, zoning out on a weekend, with obviously abundant free time.

"You should go," said Ia suddenly. "It's fine."

Yukari dared a glance at her then. The girl had a slight, bitter smile tugging at her lips, and Yukari tried to communicate with her eyes what she couldn't with her lips: _Are you sure?_

Ia nodded, and biting her lip, Yukari looked back at Cul. "Ah…yeah, sure. Wanna hang out at my house, then?"

Cul's smile grew wide. "Hell yeah! Your mom makes the _best_ cookies."

Ever since Yukari had started hanging out with Cul and her friends, her mom had started making all sorts of treats, seemingly in an attempt to entice them to remain friends with Yukari. Even though it's been quite a number of years now, what with Yukari being fifteen, it seemed like her mom had never quite gotten out of the habit.

Not that Yukari minded, really. The cookies _were_ pretty good.

"Alright," said Yukari, forcing a smile and inclining her head in the general direction of her house. "Let's go."

She waited for Cul to start walking, and then she followed. She shot one last look over at Ia, who was now staring forlornly after them. Yukari's heart ached. _I'm sorry,_ she mouthed, but Ia said nothing, only watching them go.

-xxx-

After Yukari saw Cul out, she peeped out around her front porch to see Ia, sitting in the tree, legs dangling as she looked meditatively into the sky.

"Sorry…did you wait long?" Yukari asked, keeping her voice quiet in case Cul was still in earshot.

Ia shrugged and gave Yukari a small smile. "It was fine."

There was a brief silence then, Yukari still half-out on her front porch, Ia still sitting up on the tree. Yukari looked down at her feet for a few moments before looking back up at her girlfriend. "Are you…are you mad at me?"

"No," said Ia, but she retreated further into the tree, such that her face was half-hidden by leaves. Yukari bit her lip and decided that there was nothing for it but to climb the tree too, so she closed the door behind her and climbed up to the bough where Ia was sitting, sitting down next to her. Now that Yukari was close, she could see that Ia wasn't angry – no, instead, she looked sad. But it wasn't the usual kind of sadness, with red cheeks and teary eyes. No – it was an awful, blank kind of sadness, an all-consuming, resigned sadness. A sadness that looked like Ia might never smile again. The sight was almost enough to break Yukari's heart.

"Did you have fun with Cul?" Ia asked.

Yukari reached out to take Ia's hand, but it lay limp in her palm. "It was okay. I would've had more fun with you."

Ia's lips twitched slightly at that, but it was only the faintest ghost of a smile, and she didn't say anything more.

Yukari inched a little closer to her. "I'm…I'm really sorry."

"I know."

Yukari reached out and put an arm around Ia then, and Ia leaned in to her. Yukari could feel the light heat of Ia's body, the rise and fall of her breathing, as she rubbed her hand in concentric circles on Ia's back.

After a bit of a silence, Ia spoke. "Yukari…I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

Ia's eyes stared blankly into the distance. "I've always felt that I was real…but what if I'm not? And…and what if it doesn't matter?"

Yukari furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but Ia continued. "If you're the only one who can see me…what difference does it make if I'm real or not? To the rest of the world, I'm fake…"

"Ia…" Yukari said, though she wasn't quite sure of what to say afterwards. What Ia was talking about now were the fears she always had, but somehow, this time, Ia's voice was different. This time, Ia was more resigned, and helplessly, Yukari could do nothing other than rub Ia's back.

"Even you think I might be fake," said Ia dully, and the words stabbed Yukari to the core. Try as she might, she couldn't flatly deny it. Throughout the years, Yukari had vacillated between thinking that Ia was real, or that Ia was fake. And now, Yukari quite honestly didn't know what to think. If Ia was real, then that would be fantastic, but how could that happen in this world? After all, everything was so… _normal._ This wasn't a book, or a movie, or a TV show. This was Yukari's life. How could something as fantastical as Ia even happen in this otherwise mundane world?

But the alternative, Ia being fake, would mean that Yukari was deeply disturbed, if her mind could create such a realistic apparition for her to fall in love with. And that was an alternative that was too painful for Yukari to dwell on. After all, how pathetic would it be that Yukari had to make up a girl out of her head to fall in love with? All those times when they played, and held hands, and kissed…for Yukari to be dating actually nothing but thin air…it was too much for Yukari to consider, and she quickly pushed the thought away.

Ia continued staring out into nowhere as she spoke, the words falling from her mouth like dead leaves. "I want people to see me, and talk to me, and _know_ I'm real. Living like this…Yukari, there's no way you can understand…it's absolute hell. I can't go on like this anymore, I can't, I _can't,"_ Ia balled her hands into fists. "This isn't even _life,_ this is…this is some sick, cruel, _fucked up_ existence I have. I don't want to, I _can't,_ live like this anymore." Ia practically snarled the last words, and Yukari's eyes widened. Ia was never one for swearing, and the pure amount of emotion she put in her sentence…there was no way for Yukari to doubt it. Ia meant it, meant every last word, and Yukari could read her feelings clearly in her trembling fists and her pain-wracked face.

Yukari swallowed, each heartbeat painful, echoing loud in her ears as she digested fully what Ia said. "I-Ia, are you thinking of…"

Ia was silent, and her silence only added fuel to Yukari's panic.

"No! Ia, you can't…" Yukari couldn't say the rest. The thought was too horrible to consider. Yukari wondered how long Ia had thought like this – if Ia was thinking about this when they kissed, or if Ia thought about this while Yukari was at school. But looking at Ia now, Yukari knew that it was more likely that there wasn't a single moment when Ia _wasn't_ thinking about it. After all, how could she not? Every minute of her existence in the world was defined by the fact that only Yukari could see her. It only made sense that over time, the pain would become too unbearable to live with. "Ia, please don't!"

Ia's lips pulled up in a bitter smile. "I can't. I can't get hurt, remember?" As if to illustrate the point, Ia leaned forward, precariously far, so far that if she leaned any more, she would drop head-first down to the ground. "Even if I fall like this, nothing will happen to me."

It was true, Yukari knew. The image of Ia's unbroken skin after that first fall, when they were seven, was still emblazoned in Yukari's mind. But still, it hurt to see Ia in such pain. Yukari's heart throbbed, and tears were falling down her cheeks, but she didn't know what to do. Yukari shifted such that her legs were around the branch, leaned forward and hugged Ia tightly to herself, burying her face in Ia's hair.

"We'll think of something…" Yukari said softly. She didn't know what she could possibly do, but she didn't know what else to say.

"It's really scary," said Ia, quietly. "N-now that we're older. The stuff I'm thinking about…" Ia squeezed her eyes shut. "Yukari, I…I'm really scared. I can _feel_ myself becoming more and more messed up. I don't even have any _memories_ or anything of what life was like before you. Yukari…that's really scary, isn't it? You're the only anchor I have. You're the only one who can even prove I exist…and what if you leave me? Then…"

"I'll _never_ leave you," Yukari said quickly, tightening her hug. "Don't worry. I'll never." The memories of her childhood with Ia flashed through her mind, the memories of all of Ia's sweet smiles and laughs, the memories of Ia's tight hug, the blazingly clear memory of their first kiss. Ia was such a wonderful girl, and it was so deeply unfair that she had to live like this. Suddenly, it seemed to Yukari that no sacrifice she made could possibly be enough to make up for the pain of Ia's life, and swallowing, Yukari buried her face in Ia's hair. " It doesn't matter…it doesn't matter if I can't live a normal life. I _promise_ , I'll always be yours." She kissed Ia on her head, wanting to comfort her in any way she could, even though she felt helpless before the weight of Ia's despair.

They were silent there for a long while, Yukari's eyes closed as she squeezed Ia tight to herself. She could feel Ia's pulse, could smell the slightly woodsy aroma of Ia's hair, could feel the warmth of Ia's body against hers, could feel Ia's thin shoulders shaking with the force of her suppressed tears. Ia felt so real, so alive, and so right in Yukari's arms…how could she be anything but real? The accumulation of all these things…weren't these proof of Ia's existence?

Yukari wasn't sure of how long they stayed there when Ia spoke again. "Do you think…what about Mayu?"

"Mayu? What about her?"

"She likes reading," said Ia quietly. "And she seems interested in this kind of stuff. Do you think maybe she'll know something?"

"Ah…" Yukari trailed off. The truth was, Mayu _did_ have a lot of interest in Ia, seeing how she asked after her every time they got the chance to talk…which wasn't all that often, given how much time Yukari spends with SeeU and company. Still, Mayu was also into weird occult stuff, like voodoo and the like. Yukari wasn't entirely sure if Mayu's insights would be any help here.

Yet, here was Ia, looking at her with those big, pleading eyes, and if there was one thing Yukari knew, it was that she could never ignore Ia's requests. It can't hurt, anyways, and Mayu _was_ the only person Yukari trusted enough to talk about Ia with. "Of course. I'll ask her."

Ia smiled then, and Yukari drank in the sight. Seeing Ia smile was like the world putting itself right again. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

Yukari couldn't resist it then – she leaned down and kissed Ia lightly on the lips. "It's no problem."

-xxx-

That night, as Yukari and her mom ate dinner, they heard the sound of the door open, the sound of a bag being dropped to the floor, and soon Yukari's dad entered with a sigh, loosening his tie and pulling himself up to the dining table.

Yukari glanced up. Her dad looked tired, even more tired than usual, rubbing his chin in vague thought as he picked up his chopsticks, and her mom asked, "Did something happen today?"

"Oh, not much," her dad sighed. "Just some problems with the client, disagreements over the design of the user interface. Boring stuff, in other words, but on the more exciting end of things, I heard the Akasakas are back in town."

Yukari's mom leaned in, eyes widening. "Really? So they're back at the house?"

"For the summer," said her dad, meticulously deboning his fish. "They'll have the whole town jumping at their every whim soon."

Yukari glanced between the two of them, curious. She had never heard of the Akasakas before, but from the way her parents were talking about them, they sure sounded important. "Who're the Akasakas?"

"Oh, they're a wealthy family," her mom explained. "They usually live out in Cevio, but they have a summer home here."

Yukari furrowed her eyebrows. A summer home out in Yamaha? Why? Yukari practically grew up here, and, well, truth be told, it was a pretty normal town. The only significant thing was that it was close to the city of Artech. And, Yukari supposed, there was a lagoon and waterways, but that was hardly special. At any rate, if the Akasakas were so big, Yukari was sure that she would've heard of them before. "Why haven't I ever heard of them, then?"

Her mom and dad exchanged glances, before her dad sighed and put down his chopsticks. "Well…they haven't been back in a long time. Not since the accident, at least."

"Accident?" asked Yukari, eyes wide. "What happened?"

"So…" her dad said, slowly and reluctantly, "they had an awful car crash. Just down the road, really…in the park."

In the park? Yukari felt her stomach twist at the thought of it. That was her and Ia's place, after all, and the fact that there had been a car crash there long ago weighed in her mind. Where could it have been, exactly, she wondered. In her mind's eye, she saw red flecks of crimson blood on the grass, broken playground equipment, and smoking metal, and she shuddered. "Did anyone…get hurt?"

Her mom tried to smile reassuringly at Yukari. "Well, no one died. They all went to the hospital. If something as awful as a death happened, I'm sure they wouldn't have come back."

Yukari nodded quietly at her mother's words. "Y-yeah…"

"Anyways," said her dad, forcing cheeriness into his voice, "enough of this depressing talk. Let's eat, shall we?"

-xxx-

The next day, at school, it seemed like no one could shut up about the return of the Akasakas. It seemed as though nearly everyone had some sort of stake in it, ranging from as important as kids who were the children of businessmen, and kids who just needed a summer job and wondered if they needed any help.

"Did you know that the Akasakas have a _limo_?"

"My dad went to their summer house once. He said that it's _huge!"_

"D'you think they have any kids? Do you think they'll come to summer school?"

It was complete madness. Despite herself, Yukari felt a little curious. It was almost as though the Akasakas were a big, collective celebrity family, and Yukari had never seen any celebrities before. There was an excited buzz during class, with more of her classmates sneaking texts under the desks than usual, and when lunchtime came, the classroom practically erupted as people ran over to their friends and started excitedly chattering about the Akasakas.

But while Yukari was curious about them, she still opted to hang out with Mayu instead, much to the mingled shock and disappointment of her friends, all of whom wanted to share the latest gossip about the Akasakas. However, Yukari had a mission to ask Mayu whatever she could about Ia's situation, and she had to stick to it.

"I'll eat with you all tomorrow," Yukari promised before hurrying off to where Mayu was sitting (alone, as always), pulling up a chair and taking out her lunch.

Mayu blinked at her in surprise as a slow smile spread on her face. "Yukari. It's been a while."

Yukari smiled, sitting down and pulling out her lunch. "Yeah…sorry about that. So everyone's pretty excited about these Akasaka people, huh?"

"Of course," said Mayu. "They _are_ fabulously wealthy, and if there's one thing humans can't resist, it's money."

"Huh," said Yukari, trying to imagine being that wealthy. She couldn't.

"So," said Mayu, smiling, "everyone is naturally extremely excited. You should be too."

Yukari furrowed her eyebrows. "Me? Why me?"

Mayu's smile grew wider. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't know. I was pretty lucky to stumble upon this information myself. My father's a doctor, and he's quite talkative when he's in his cups. Breaks all sorts of confidentiality agreements, but, you know."

Yukari frowned slightly. She got the distinct feeling that Mayu was toying with her. "What? What is it?"

"Right," Mayu laughed, looking as though she was enjoying this far too much. "So. A quick summary: The Akasaka family is a wealthy family that visited the humble Yamaha suburbs often, having a summer home here. Yamaha's closeness to the natural countryside, as well as its gentle summer weather, myriad waterways, lagoon wildlife, and convenient proximity to the city of Artech, made it an adequate place to spend the early summer before heading off to more exotic locales."

"Right…" said Yukari, slowly. She wanted Mayu to get to the point, but for some reason, Yukari was more curious about the Akasakas than she thought. Even this relatively irrelevant prologue was interesting to her.

"Patience _,_ Yukari. Everything was perfect, the Akasakas coming in here year after year, rejuvenating the town with their money and their friends' money. It was a mutually beneficial relationship…until the accident happened," Mayu said, and here she dropped her voice. "They got into an awful car crash. And before you ask if everyone was okay – no. No, they weren't."

Yukari's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"The mother was fine. The youngest daughter was fine. The father walks with a cane now. But there was one very unlucky casualty of the car accident…"

Yukari leaned in closer, poised to receive whatever Mayu told her next. For some reason, all of her attention was rapt on this account.

Mayu continued, her voice low. "Everyone thought that she was sent overseas to boarding school, that's why no one sees her anymore. They didn't want the press bothering them. Especially not since they have the medical staff in their house."

"M-medical staff? For who?"

Mayu spoke each word of the next sentence slowly, as though drip-feeding it into Yukari's ears. "Their oldest daughter, Akasaka Ia. She's been in a coma for the past ten years."

At that, Yukari nearly fell back in her chair, eyes widening at the unexpected name. "Akasaka… _Ia_?"

"That's right," said Mayu. "Akasaka Ia. Just one problem," Mayu raised a slender finger. "It doesn't look like she's waking up."

The name spun round and round in Yukari's head, the jigsaw pieces snapping together. In her memory, she saw it, crystal clear, almost as though she was living it now – moving to Yamaha, going to the park, and seeing Ia, a quiet girl sitting on the bench.

A girl that no one else could see. A girl who grew up with Yukari, laughing and smiling…the girl that Yukari fell in love with.

And a girl, if what Mayu was telling her was correct, who was also horribly injured in a car crash, and was now in a coma.

It was so unbelievable, Yukari had to ask one more question to make sure. "H-how old is she?"

"Our age," said Mayu solemnly. "She was five, when it happened."

"Oh my god," said Yukari, numb. She imagined the Akasakas waiting for Ia to wake up, while Ia wandered the streets of Yamaha, marooned, confused, and utterly alone.

Ia was not imaginary. She was never imaginary. She was a real girl, with real parents, and a real sister, and a real house. There were people in Yamaha who had seen her before; who had seen her walking, and talking, and reading. The revelation washed over Yukari like a great wave, leaving her pale and shaking.

"Where is she?" Yukari could barely manage to croak out.

"Her body, or her spirit?" said Mayu, smiling slightly.

"Her body, of course!"

Mayu glanced around, laughing a little. "Don't be so loud, Yukari, these are secrets I'm telling you. When the Akasakas came, they brought over Ia and all the medical equipment here. They couldn't just leave her in Cevio while the rest of the family gallivanted about Yamaha; what if something happened to her, after all? So, in the most utmost of secrecy, they contacted all the local doctors here, and arranged for Ia to be transported. One of those local doctors was my father, and so," Mayu leaned back, proud, "that's how I know."

Yukari put a hand to her forehead, her breaths coming heavy and fast. Ia was here. Ia was _right here_ in Yamaha _,_ with her family.

"So you think…" Yukari said, slowly. "You think I can reunite Ia with her body?"

Mayu nodded. "I don't know how, but I watched a movie that was a little like this once. I think if you get Ia's spirit and Ia's body in the same room, it'll work itself out."

Yukari bit her lip and nodded. Hope was growing in her chest, more hope than she ever remembered feeling in her life. What she had hoped and prayed for so long was true – that Ia was real, that Ia wasn't just a figment of her imagination. She could never be truly sure, until now.

And now that Yukari knew…she had to tell Ia. And more than that, she had to find a way to reunite Ia with her family, and her self.

"Mayu…" said Yukari quietly, looking into her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Mayu smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "No problem."

"How can I ever…if there's anything you need from me to repay you for this…"

Mayu laughed. "Well, I don't know about _you_ paying me back. Way I see it though, the Akasakas sure owe me a pretty penny. Anyways," Mayu snapped her chopsticks and started eating her food, "shouldn't you be ditching school right about now to talk to your girlfriend?"

Yukari grinned, pushing her chair back. "Will your dad write me a doctor's note?"

"Please," said Mayu, waving a hand dismissively. " _I_ can write one for you. Years of practicing his signature. Now go."

Practically hopping on her feet, Yukari nodded and left.

-xxx-

Yukari wasn't really sure where Ia spent her time while she was at school, a fact that she realized shortly after she left. Still, she remembered that Ia had told her that she liked spending time at the library, so Yukari checked there first, and sure enough, found Ia, who was sitting on the floor paging through some thick, hardcover tome.

"Ia!" Yukari shouted, earning her a glare and a harsh shush from the librarian, and a shocked yelp from Ia, who nearly dropped her book. Of course, the librarian didn't seem to hear her, not that Yukari cared at the moment.

"Y-Yukari!?" Ia stuttered. "Don't you have… _school?_ What are you doing here?"

"Come with me," Yukari whispered, and eyes wide Ia nodded, slotting the book neatly back into its shelf before following Yukari out of the library. Yukari practically ran to the park, and when they arrived, she turned around and immediately started talking.

"Ia," said Yukari, "you're _real._ "

Ia blinked at her. "Huh?"

Excited, Yukari strode forward to grip her by the shoulders. "Ia, you're real! There're these people, the Akasakas, who are in town now. They were in an awful car accident years ago, right here in this park, and since then they haven't come back till now. You have a mom, and a dad, and a sister, and a house!"

"A…what?" Ia still looked utterly confused, her eyebrows furrowed together. "What are you talking about?"

Yukari slowed down. "Okay, okay, so there's this family, the Akasakas. They have a summer home here and stuff, and they used to come here every year, until they had this awful car accident, with their entire family. They have a daughter, Akasaka _Ia,_ who was in the accident—"

"A c-car accident?" Ia stuttered, eyes wide now. "Am I…am I _dea-_ "

"No!" Yukari interrupted quickly. "You're…you're just in a coma, that's all! Your name is Akasaka Ia, and you're here, but at the same time, you're with the Akasakas with a medical staff all around you. You've…you've been out for ten years! And the car crash happened when you were five! Ia, it adds up! You're…you're _Akasaka Ia_!"

"But…but…I'm here," said Ia numbly, her shoulders limp under Yukari's hands as the weight of the words bore in on her. "I'm awake. I'm here. How can I be in a coma at the same time?"

"Ia, I know it sounds completely crazy, but I was talking to Mayu. Mayu told me _all_ of this. We think that maybe…maybe when the car accident happened, it knocked your spirit out or something like that, well…at any rate," Yukari was practically stumbling all over her words now, "it's crazy, but it's no crazier than me being the only one who's able to see you."

Ia swept her eyes across the park, eyes wide. Yukari could practically hear the gears in her mind turning, could sense that Ia was trying to remember what happened. All those awful images that flashed through Yukari's mind when she was imagining the accident…she knew it must feel ten times worse for Ia.

"I must…I must have been hurt so badly," said Ia slowly, her eyes gazing out at the park as though she was viewing it for the very first time. "I haven't woken up for ten years?"

"Yeah…that's what Mayu said."

Ia bit her lip and looked down. "Do you think I'll ever wake up again?"

"I don't know," said Yukari, walking forward and cupping Ia's cheek, "but…you know you'll always have me, at least. Whether you wake up or not."

"Even if no one else can see me?"

Yukari swallowed. While she would have loved for others to be able to see Ia, so that Yukari could be with her in public…so that no one would think that she was a loner, or crazy…so that everyone would know that someone as amazing as Ia existed outside of Yukari's head…she knew that just being with Ia would be enough. It was just as she said to Ia yesterday – even if she couldn't live a normal life, it was worth it for her. And now that Yukari knew, _really_ knew, that Ia was a real girl, who really loved her, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.

"Of course," said Yukari softly. "I love you, after all."

A smile spread on Ia's face then, and she closed her eyes and turned her face into Yukari's hand. They stayed like that for a few moments, quiet. Then, Ia breathed out a sigh and looked back up into Yukari's eyes.

Ia looked determined, more determined than Yukari had ever seen her before. She looked, Yukari thought, as though she had found purpose.

"I want to see myself," said Ia. "We have to get into the Akasaka house somehow."

Yukari nodded. "We will. I'll think of something."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you everyone for the views, follows, favorites, and reviews. The end of the story is coming up in one or two chapters!**


	6. Chapter 6

It was the weekend, and Yukari and Ia were crouching on a tree, gaping in awe at the Akasaka's summer home. While Yukari knew it was big, she had never imagined it to be _this_ big. It wasn't just a _house,_ it was a full estate, with large grounds, a winding path down an isolated road, and, ridiculously, turrets _._ It dwarfed everything around it, rivaling even the size of the trees. And it was a long, long way from everything else, too – the walk from Yukari's home to the Akasakas' took an hour and a half.

"Wow…" said Ia, eyes wide, and Yukari nodded numbly. Somehow, she couldn't quite see Ia within these walls. She imagined Ia when she first met her, young and small with unruly hair and big blue eyes, walking down the halls of the house. The image seemed weird, interspersed with images of Ia wandering around Yamaha and swinging on the swingset in the humble playground in Yukari's neighborhood. How could it be that the same Ia grew up here? Though…Yukari supposed Ia didn't grow up in these walls. Not really.

Then, the front door of the house opened, and a young girl with short hair the same color of Ia's darted out, dressed in a light orange dress. She was young and pretty, and walked confidently across the grass as her fingers flew on her phone, presumably texting someone. Yukari tried to lower herself further in the tree, lest she saw her.

"I…I think…that's my sister," said Ia, the words coming out of her lips slowly, as though Ia wasn't quite aware of what she was saying, and was speaking only in a trance. Yukari looked over. Ia was tightly gripping the tree, leaning so far forward it almost looked like she was about to fall over. Her eyes were wide, and she was trembling slightly.

"Do you remember her name?" asked Yukari.

Ia closed her eyes tightly for a few moments before snapping them open and nodding. "Y-yeah. Her name's One." Her eyes were fixed to the girl in sheer wonder, drinking in each of her movements. "She…she looks so grown up now. It's weird," Ia laughed softly. "She was just a baby. Only three. I don't know how I could have recognized her, but…"

Yukari looked quietly at Ia. She was remembering now, and for some reason, Yukari felt a bittersweet sensation pierce her chest. It felt, strangely, like a loss. Gone was Ia, who was just Ia, and Yukari's alone. In her place was Akasaka Ia, and while logically, Yukari knew that she was still the same girl she fell in love with…a part of her couldn't help but to mourn what she was about to lose.

Still, Yukari was still happy that Ia was beginning to remember, that Ia's reality was beginning to be shaded in. Ia had a family now, a visible family, and she was beginning to remember them. All the parts of Ia's life that had been so cruelly snatched away from her were, Yukari sensed, on the precipice of being given back.

"She was always really talkative," said Ia with a soft smile. "Even when she could only speak baby talk. I wonder what she's like now…" she looked out at One with a palpable sense of loss. "I wish I could've seen her grow up."

"You still have time," said Yukari, reaching out to hold Ia's hand. "I'm going to get you back to your family."

"Yeah…" said Ia, looking at the house. "But…how can we get in?"

Yukari shifted her weight on the branch and peered forward. "I think we can make it into the grounds if we jump, here. But your sister is still her, and she'll _definitely_ see me if I jump. But even if she wasn't…" Yukari studied the house. It was old and grand, but there were vines creeping up the side of the house, leading up to various balconies. Maybe she could go in through there…though she wasn't sure if the vines could hold her weight, and what if the balconies were locked? Better not risk the fall. Ia would be fine, but Yukari probably wouldn't.

"It's too risky to go now," said Ia, even though her posture betrayed her obvious impatience to see herself. "I…I want to go in now, but even I know that we can't. We don't know anything about anyone's schedules."

"Well…if you want to go in now, you can. No one can see, you…you can get in safely, if you wanted."

Ia shook her head and reached a hand out to hold Yukari's. "No, I want you to come. What if I go, and it's…horrible?"

While Ia danced around the topic, Yukari knew what she meant. The image of the comatose Ia, pale and lifeless in bed, had haunted her mind ever since Mayu told her about everything. Yukari could only imagine how scarily uncanny it would be for Ia herself.

She squeezed Ia's hand back. "I understand. Then…we need to figure out some way to get me inside."

-xxx-

Over the next few days, Yukari and Ia (though, given Yukari's school commitments, it was mostly Ia) staked out Ia's house. It wasn't quite as exciting as it sounded, really; mostly it consisted on long, empty stretches of waiting and watching, seeing lights come on and off through the windows, seeing the staff come to and fro.

Soon, with Ia's constant vigilance of the house day and night, Yukari and Ia managed to figure out a sort of schedule. In the mornings, One often left the house to go on walks, and the few times Ia followed her, it seemed that One's destination was almost always the trail that winded around the marsh. Like Ia, it seemed that One held an interest in the wildlife that populated the lagoon, and would sometimes bring a pair of binoculars on her excursions to watch the sky for birds. Ia always spoke so fondly of One then, reporting each of her actions as though it was something precious. It only made sense, Yukari figured, for an older sister who missed out on pretty much the entirety of their younger sibling's childhood, to be fascinated by the slight ways her sister resembled her. One usually returned home after a couple of hours for lunch, and wouldn't reemerge unless the family had some afternoon excursion, which seemed to with some regularity. Often, they would drive out, and would not return until after dinnertime, whereupon they would retire to the house and not leave. Occasionally, One would dart out to take some nighttime walks with her mother, but that didn't happen very often.

"So the safest time to go would be in the afternoon, right after they leave," said Yukari one morning, after a few days of observation.

Ia nodded. "They always lock the door when they leave, but I think maybe we can climb the wall and get in through a balcony."

"Uh…" Yukari wasn't quite so sure if she could manage that. Ia might be fine with long falls, but Yukari certainly wasn't.

Ia sensed Yukari's hesitation. "Well, it's brick. It's an old house too, so a lot of it's sticking out."

"Well…okay. But what if I climb it, and the balcony's locked?"

There was a small silence, then Ia sighed and nodded. "Yeah…you're right. But what else can we do?" Ia fell back on the bed, biting her lip. "Do you…do you think maybe you can get a job there?"

Yukari frowned as she mulled it over. She couldn't think of any particular skills she had that other people didn't also have, but she was still pretty athletic. Maybe if the Akasakas needed some kind of…messenger girl, she could fulfill that role. Though, Yukari wasn't sure what they would need her for, seeing how they had a car already, and a full -time staff. "I…I guess. Do you think they'll hire me?"

"I dunno," Ia's eyes were fixed open, staring out into some imagined vision of the Akasaka house. "But…we have to think of something."

-xxx-

When their chance came, it came unexpectedly.

It was a weekend morning, Yukari accompanying Ia to her now extremely, by Yukari's standards, early morning stakeouts. The two of them crouched behind some bushes, Yukari barely suppressing her yawn as Ia stared with laser-like focus at the door.

Then, One opened the front door, eyes trained on her phone as usual as she walked out.

Only this time, she left the front door open.

Yukari's mouth nearly dropped in astonishment at One's carelessness, and she turned to Ia to comment on it, but to her surprise, Ia was gone. Yukari turned her gaze back towards the door, and Ia was practically sprinting over.

"Wh-wha-" Yukari began, but quickly shut her mouth, remembering that One was still somewhere in the vicinity. She looked, and saw One walking at a steady pace in the direction of the lagoon, the opposite side of where Yukari was crouching. With a gulp, she looked back at Ia, who was waving frantically at her.

Yukari hesitated for only a moment before getting up and stealing over as quietly as she could to the Akasaka house. She glanced in One's direction as she did. All clear. Once she neared Ia, Ia gave only a nod before darting inside, Yukari quickly following behind her.

"Stay behind me," Ia said, voice at normal volume, much to Yukari's horror, before she remembered that, _right_ , no one could hear her. "I'll scout ahead."

"Okay," Yukari whispered, looking around the house. It was even more imposing on the inside than it was on the outside, all high ceilings and gloomy darkness in the feeble morning light. Before them was a large staircase that wound up and up, with antiques shrouded in darkness standing vigil on its sides.

"Let's try upstairs," said Ia, but even as the words left her mouth she was dashing up the staircase, heedless of the noise she was making. In stark contrast, Yukari crept up, heavily aware of each noise her shoe made on the plush stairs, guiltily aware of her dirty shoes. The house pressed in around her, oppressive in its silence.

The staircase ended in a landing, with hallways running towards the left and the right. Ia glanced down both, posture alert.

"How are we gonna tell which one to go down?" Yukari whispered.

"We'll just have to check one, and then check the other," Ia answered, and with that she went down the left hallway, Yukari creeping behind her. For the first time in her life, she wished she was invisible too. The consequences of getting caught here…Yukari shuddered. Couldn't she get arrested for this? And how could she possibly explain her presence in the house without seeming suspicious?

Before her, Ia put her ear against each door they passed, listening intently. She did that for door after door, and on the second to last door on the right, she froze.

"I think…" she breathed, before motioning Yukari over. "Yukari, you listen too."

Yukari nodded and put her ear against the door. At first, she couldn't hear anything, the thick wood muffling the sound, but as she listened more intently, she heard it – a small beep. "What's that?"

"I think it might be…a heart monitor," said Ia, looking at her with wide eyes.

Yukari swallowed as the reality of what they were about to see pressed down on her. Behind this door, then, was Ia's body. Her heart thudded fast in her chest as she rested her hand on the bronze doorknob. "Are you ready?"

Ia nodded, a single, decisive movement. Yukari breathed in, breathed out, and steeling herself, pushed the door open.

It was dark inside, save for what little light peeped in through the thick curtains. It was a large room, with a large bed in its center. There was medical equipment around it, a heart monitor as Ia said, an IV, and other things that Yukari couldn't identify.

And in the center of the bed…Yukari's heart almost leapt out of her throat. There was a small, slight figure, dwarfed by the majesty of the four-poster bed she slept in. The figure was so still and silent, Yukari felt as though she was looking at a corpse. The only indication of life was the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

Ia swallowed and walked over, Yukari following her. Together, they looked down at the body in the bed.

It was, undeniably, Ia – her facial features were exactly the same, as well as her distinctive shade of hair. However, whereas the Ia standing next to Yukari was vibrant and flushed with color, the Ia in bed was deathly pale, with skin so light it looked almost translucent. The shape of her body was thin and frail under the sheets, and Yukari looked at the Ia next to her – remembered the way she laughed, the way she would excitedly talk about her favorite books, the way she ran, sweating and grinning and _alive_.

The Ia in bed was only a shadow of that. She looked as though she had never run, had never been outside. Had spent her life quietly wasting away in bed, as everyone around her waited for her to wake up.

Ia let out a deep, shuddering breath, and sat down next to herself lightly, eyes tracing over her own features. "Look at her…"

Yukari was beginning to feel uncomfortable. The dark oppressiveness of the house, the steady drill of the heart monitor's beeping, the frighteningly corpse-like Ia on the bed…looking at Ia like that, pale and vulnerable and human and _alone,_ made Yukari's heart ache, bone-deep, in her body. "Yeah…"

"Look at how lonely I am," said Ia softly.

"You're not lonely," said Yukari, reaching out to hold Ia's hand. "You have me."

Ia bit her lip, her eyes still focused on that pale face. "Even though…even though I look like that?"

"Even then," Yukari assured her.

Ia glanced back at Yukari then, smiling softly and squeezing her hand, before bringing her gaze back to the Ia on the bed. She reached out and put a hand on her pale cheek…

And then, with a sharp, painful thud in Yukari's heart, she found that she was holding nothing but empty air. Dumbly, she gaped at the empty space where Ia – _her_ Ia – once was, but there was nothing in the room save for her and the comatose Ia in the room, silent as death itself.

"Ia?" said Yukari, quickly getting up from the bed and looking around the room. It was completely empty. She bit her lip, eyes jerking around. How could Ia have disappeared so quickly? Panic thrummed through her body. "Ia!?"

But then, she heard it – a louder, harsher beeping emanating from the equipment in the room. Yukari stiffened, then turned slowly to the body on the bed, eyes wide. "…Ia?"

"Y…Yukari?" the words came out rough and broken, the voice craggy and whispery. It was not a voice Yukari could recognize, and yet, she knew. Heart in her mouth, she watched as Akasaka Ia opened her eyes.

They were the same, and yet, not the same. Yukari approached the bed, unsure of what to do. "Ia…you're awake?"

Akasaka Ia looked at her then, and Yukari felt a jolt of recognition in her clear, blue eyes. It was _her_ Ia that she saw in those eyes, the Ia she grew up with and fell in love with, home at last in her own body. "Y-yeah. I'm…I'm back."

Yukari swallowed, tears free-falling down her cheek. She felt a sudden, desperate urge to touch her, to make sure she's real. She reached out her hand.

Only for the door behind her to burst open.

"Who are you?" barked a commanding voice, and Yukari drew her hand back, turning round to look at the intruder. It was a severe looking man in scrubs, and he approached her menacingly. "You leave that girl alone. Did you touch this equipment?"

"No!" Yukari protested. "I…I was…"

"Then why is it…" the man stopped short as he looked at Ia on the bed, and his eyes grew wide. Immediately, he hurried to the bed, checking the equipment and Ia. "My god…she's awake," he said, mostly to himself. "And here I thought the machines were malfunctioning." He reached up, pressed a button on the wall, and spoke softly to Ia. "Now…Ms. Akasaka, I don't want you to be alarmed, but you've been asleep for a very, very long time..."

"I know," Ia croaked.

The man furrowed his eyebrows. "You know?"

Yukari stood awkwardly there, forgotten by the nurse in his haste. She wished he was gone, so that she could have a moment with Ia to herself – to hug her, to talk to her, to assure her that she's fine and back in her own body. For some reason, seeing the nurse talk to Ia and see her was unsettling. Yukari had spent so much of her life getting used to the fact that no one else could see her, that to have that all reversed now was almost too sudden. She stood there, rooted in her mixed feelings of relief, astonishment, happiness, and discomfort that resolved only to a vague paralysis.

Ia looked so weak, so small and frail in this large bed. She turned her head, slowly, and the mere movement seemed like it took so much out of her body that it made Yukari's heart ache. Her blue eyes met Yukari's, and Ia gave her a soft smile. It was all Yukari could do to smile back.

Then, the door opened again.

"Oh…" said the woman at the doorway, hand leaping to her mouth as she gazed at Ia on the bed. "Ia…she's awake…"

"Ma…?" Ia mumbled, barely seeming to be able to summon up the strength to say the syllable. It sounded strangely childish coming out of her mouth, a word that she had not used in ten years.

The woman at the doorway immediately made a rush for Ia, ignoring Yukari and the nurse's existence in favor of wrapping Ia in a tight hug. Yukari could see the woman's shoulders shaking with the force of her tears, and Yukari swallowed, suddenly feeling as though she was intruding.

"What happened?" said a male voice, and Yukari turned her eyes back to the doorway. There stood a man and, Yukari recognized, One, hovering uncertainly around the periphery of the door.

"Did…did Ia wake up?" One said uncertainly, her voice catching a little on the words.

"Yes, Miss," said the nurse, standing by as Ia's mother hugged her as tightly as Yukari wished she could. "Ms. Akasaka has woken up."

"What?" said Ia's father, eyes wide, but while he hesitated, One didn't, immediately running forward towards her sister. And, well, after that, what more could the father do but follow?

There was more crying after that, a lot of crying, and a lot of hugging as the Akasaka family and Ia reunited after those lonely ten years. Yukari stood awkwardly in the corner, forgotten, knowing that she didn't belong. For a selfish moment, her heart squeezed tight, looking at all these people who were strangers to her looking at and talking to and touching Ia, and she wished, deeply and briefly, that she was the only one who could see her again, that she was the only one…

But that moment of weakness passed as soon as it came, leaving Yukari feeling guilty and uncertain. She hovered there for only a few moments before her feelings of discomfort overwhelmed her, and she turned around and walked towards the door, sparing only one last glance at Ia's bed. She couldn't see her, her body blocked out by her parents and sister, all talking excitedly through their tears.

Yukari felt a bitter smile tug on her lips then. She wanted to cry, but instead she looked down at her feet and quickly walked out the door. She went down the stairs and let herself out, and the mid-morning sun caught her eyes, forcing her to blink as her eyes adjusted to the light.

It would be a few days before Ia could contact her again, Yukari knew. There were sure to be questions, a _lot_ of questions, from Ia's family, and judging from the amount of medical equipment there was in the room, Ia couldn't exactly leap out of bed and run over to Yukari's house the next day. And while Ia didn't know the Yuzuki home phone number, she _did_ know the address, so Ia would probably come by herself to see Yukari later. A few days was a long wait, Yukari thought, but she had been with Ia for ten years.

Still, a part of her couldn't help but to mourn the loss of the Ia that only she knew. It was a selfish loss, but it was a loss anyways. From now on, Ia was a _real_ real girl, a girl that everyone else could see.

And that meant that Yukari and Ia could walk down the street holding hands, without Yukari having to pretend every now and then that her hand was cramping because it looked like she was holding air. That meant that Yukari could finally say that she was dating someone, and be able to prove it. That Yukari could introduce Ia to her friends at school, and to her parents at home. Everyone would know that Ia existed, and that Yukari was dating her. Ia wouldn't have to be sad over the fact that no one could see her, because from now on, _everyone_ will be able to see her. Ia would finally have the proof of existence that she always should have had. With this, Ia was at last the real person she always was, and no one would ever be able to doubt that fact.

The thought of that was enough to make Yukari smile again, and sticking her hands in her pockets, she hummed all the way back home. She waited her whole life to be with Ia. Waiting another few days for her to come by and knock on her door would be nothing.

And so, Yukari went back home to her family and her life at school. Went back to the rhythms of everyday life, though without Ia's presence, it felt as though her life had a big, gaping hole punched through it. Yukari went through the motions, but it didn't feel the same. Still, Ia would come soon, she was sure, and so Yukari waited faithfully for the day Ia knocked on her door.

Except, that day never came.


	7. Chapter 7

With a sigh, Yukari threw the last of her clothes into her suitcase, sitting down heavily on her bed as she stared dully at the luggage. It was senior summer, Yukari was about to go to college, and she felt absolutely miserable.

She didn't want to leave Yamaha, much to her parents' surprise. She wanted to stay at home, and commute to college. Except, all the colleges were a far drive from Yamaha, and even Yukari knew that it wasn't really worth it. Still, she didn't want to leave.

After all, she knew that the moment she walked out that door to live her college life in a college dorm, it would be much harder for Ia to just come by and knock on her door…because Yukari wouldn't be around.

Except, Yukari thought dryly, it was _stupid_ to expect that. After all, it had been three years. Three years since that day when Ia disappeared from her side, and Akasaka Ia woke up. Three years of waiting for Ia to decide that she wanted Yukari back in her life. Three years of hoping that Ia suddenly remembered her, the girl back in Yamaha who gave her her heart.

It was really stupid. The Akasakas didn't even _live_ in Yamaha, it was just their summer home, and ever since that summer, they had left without coming back. Ia was in the large, faraway city of Cevio, leaving Yukari marooned alone. Yukari wondered if Ia even thought of her these days. After all, Ia was in a different world now. She had a large mansion, probably _several_ large mansions. She probably had countless friends too – how could she not? Someone as wonderful as Ia probably had friends who were ten times better spoken, better educated, better dressed, better _everything_ than Yukari.

And Ia was so beautiful. She was so patient, and kind, and clever…she probably dated a ton of people afterwards. She probably had everyone, both boys and girls, falling all over themselves to have a chance to have those earnest blue eyes trained on theirs as they kissed those perfect lips.

Maybe the moment Ia woke up, she realized that she only became friends with Yukari because she had no choice to. Only fell in love with Yukari because she had no choice to. After all, in her new life, why would she give Yukari a second thought?

Still, Yukari couldn't help herself. She wanted to stay here, and wait for Ia, even though she knew that with each and every year her chance was fading. As time ticked cruelly onwards, Ia would surely forget her more and more.

Yukari buried her face in her hands. She could see that day so clearly in her mind's eye – sneaking into the summer estate with Ia, going to Akasaka Ia's bed, seeing Ia disappear before her eyes as Akasaka Ia opened her own. Yukari had thought that the Ia she knew since childhood, the Ia she loved, was the same Ia who woke up in Akasaka Ia's body. But the truth was painfully clear to Yukari now that _her_ Ia, and Akasaka Ia, were two completely different people.

Her Ia had died the day Akasaka Ia woke up.

Yukari sighed as she got up from the bed, surveying her room. Her eyes passed by the window, and all at once she remembered the countless number of times Ia had climbed in through it. She remembered Ia laughing, Ia crying, Ia smiling. She remembered Ia's arms tightly around her, Ia's lips pressed against her own.

Yukari clenched her hands into fists. She really had to stop torturing herself. Maybe moving out to a different city for college was just what she needed. There were too many memories here in this room, too many memories here in this entire neighborhood, and Yukari couldn't put her life on hold forever.

As she lugged her luggage down the stairs, Yukari tried to put on a smile for her excited parents. She would be leaving for college with her friend SeeU, much to their happiness, who had worried so much about Yukari's 'imaginary friend' when she was a child. Somehow, even though Yukari couldn't really bring herself to care much about homework over the past three years, SeeU had, through sheer determined bloody-mindedness, managed to get enough necessary material into Yukari's brain that Yukari could scrape by enough to qualify for the same college as her. As such, they were going to pile in and leave for college together.

"Oh my gosh, Yukari, I'm so excited!" her mom gushed, and Yukari forced a chuckle as she hugged her.

"Yeah, it's a, uh, big step," said Yukari. "Is SeeU here yet?"

"Yup," said SeeU, peeking in from the open front door. "Got all your stuff?"

Yukari managed a smile. "Yeah, I think. Not much to pack."

"Great," said SeeU. "I'll be waiting in the car, whenever you're ready."

Yukari nodded, and turned to face her parents. There were hugs, and tears, and Yukari tried her best not to remember that memory of the Akasakas huddled around Ia, their backs blocking Yukari's view of her forever.

"Oh! Almost forgot," said her mom, "there's a letter for you." She handed Yukari a small white envelope, and Yukari took it with a quiet thanks. It was probably from Mayu – the girl was fond of old-fashioned gestures like writing letters, and after Ia's disappearance, seemed to have taken it upon herself to be Yukari's penpal, even though they lived within walking distance of each other. It was a nice gesture, anyways. Still, Yukari felt a pang in her heart. After all, Mayu would be going to college all the way out in Cevio. They had promised to visit each other often, but it was still a ways away, and Mayu was the only person Yukari trusted enough to talk to about Ia.

Yukari didn't think to open the letter until after she and SeeU were in the car and on their way. It was a long stretch of highway, and their conversation had lapsed into silence when Yukari remembered the letter in her pocket. She took it out and opened it, and at the sight of the handwriting, Yukari couldn't help the choked gasp that came out of her throat, the sudden acceleration of her heart, the delicate letters on the paper swimming before her eyes.

 _Dear Yukari,_

 _I hope this letter gets to you in time. It's time for college to start soon, isn't it? It's strange how long it's been. I'm sorry we never got the chance to celebrate your birthday together, the way we used to._

 _Oh, Yukari, I hope you're reading this, and haven't forgotten me. I want to see you again. Can you meet me? I'll be in Cevio, at a café at 10_ _th_ _Street, between 2_ _nd_ _and 1_ _st_ _Avenue, next to a curry store, every day for the next week between 1 to 4 PM. From Yamaha, you can take the train._

 _I know you've probably moved on, with all your other friends – SeeU, Cul, Miki, and Mayu. I know you've probably met someone else by now, and that you're probably happy. But I'd really like it if I could see you again, if only you are willing to._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Ia_

Yukari stared at the letter numbly, reading it over and over. Cevio. Ia was in Cevio. Waiting for her. She wanted to see her. Wanted to see Yukari. She still remembered her. Relief flooded Yukari, leaving her knees weak – she would've fallen, if she wasn't sitting.

But quickly, the relief receded, replaced by unease. Yukari scanned the letter again, reading it over and over. In some ways, it had been what she hoped – a letter, from Ia, wishing to see her again. But in other ways, it had been not at all what she wanted. There was no _I miss you._ No _I love you._

It wasn't the letter Yukari would've written, for sure. She would've spilled her feelings for Ia all over the page, if she had only known where to send it. Would've written in blotchy ink how much she missed her, and how much she loved her, and painful it was, the time she had spent waiting and waiting and…

Yukari sighed and shook her head. She hated how Ia still made her feel this way. Every inch of her body was screaming at her to get to Cevio _now,_ but she was with SeeU on the way to college in Artech. And the letter itself was still so vague. Did Ia have someone else in her life now? She didn't say, and Yukari couldn't really tease out what Ia had meant from those sentences.

God. The missing _I miss you'_ s and _I love you_ 's were painful, because Yukari missed her, and Yukari still loved her, and she was so angry at Ia for leaving her alone. But Ia _did_ say that she wanted to meet her. Was that enough?

What a foolish question. Of course it was. Ia could have asked Yukari to try to catch a falling star, and Yukari would have at least tried.

"SeeU," said Yukari, and SeeU looked over briefly before doing a double take and looking more closely at her.

"H-holy shit, Yukari," SeeU said, eyes wide. "Are you okay? D-did you forget something?"

"How…how far is Cevio?" Yukari stammered, hands clutching onto the letter. "From Artech. I…I kinda need to get there. I mean, I don't want to inconvenience you, so I'll just take a train…"

"Whoah, whoah, slow down," said SeeU, glancing back at the road every so often, though it was a straight stretch of highway. " _Cevio?_ Why do you want to go to _Cevio_?"

Yukari was silent. She had never told SeeU about Ia, had never really considered it. Her secret sat uneasily in her chest, even though the letter was real in her hands. She could have read it to SeeU, but the words felt too private to be shared.

SeeU looked at Yukari a few moments before sighing and turning her eyes back to the road. "Well…we missed the turn to Cevio a while back. But we're a half hour from Artech now. We can drop off all of our stuff at the dorm first, go through a little bit of orientation…" SeeU glanced back at Yukari then.

Something in Yukari's eyes must have moved her, for SeeU groaned. "Alright, alright. Are you in a big hurry or something?"

Yukari chewed her lip. Ia said she would be waiting a week. All considered, Yukari did have time. But, she couldn't fight the screaming urge in her body to see Ia as soon as she could. It had been so, so long since she had last seen her that any longer than necessary felt like torture. "N-not really…"

"You sure look like you are," said SeeU. "Anyways…how about this, we get to campus and you can drop off your stuff. _I'll_ sign you in for orientation stuff while you go and…pursue whatever mysterious business you have in Cevio."

Yukari swallowed. She felt guilty, leaving SeeU all alone. "Well…it's okay, we can go through-"

"No, no," said SeeU abruptly, waving her hand to banish the thought. "You really have no idea how miserable you look. I mean, you've been pretty down in the dumps for the past few years, so…well," SeeU sighed, "if there's something that's so important in Cevio to you…I don't want to stop you from going there. I dunno what any of this is all about, but, y'know, I want you to be like, happy and shit."

It wasn't exactly the most eloquent speech, but Yukari felt her heart brim over anyways. "Th-thank you. Thanks, SeeU, I really owe you. I owe you a ton, I—"

"Okay, okay," SeeU interrupted, eyes focused on the road. "Geez. You don't need to owe me anything. Just…" SeeU sighed and glanced back over at Yukari, eyes serious, "after you finish, just…tell me what's going on, okay? Like, what's wrong, and stuff. We've been friends since we were ten, so…you know...it'd be nice, to know what's going on inside your head sometimes." SeeU said the last words quietly, and abruptly turned her head back to the road, a light smattering of red on her cheeks while Yukari stared at her. She remembered all the times SeeU and her friends had inquired after her when she was down, asking what was wrong. Yukari always made excuses in those times, though – after all, most of the time, her sadness had something to do with Ia.

Still, even though SeeU had expressly asked, Yukari still found it hard to move the block in her chest. How could she possibly explain this wild circumstance to SeeU? It was crazy, absolutely crazy, and Yukari still remembered how people treated her back then. Even now, when Ia had a body, and Yukari could prove her existence…it was still hard. But it was true, what SeeU said – they _had_ been friends for a long time.

"Yeah," said Yukari softly, and she looked out the window at the endless strip of road. "I'll…I'll try."

-xxx-

The moment Yukari finished checking in and dropping her bags at her dorm room, she gave SeeU a quick, tight goodbye hug before racing over to the train station. Thankfully, it wasn't too far from where she lived – a mere ten blocks east – and Yukari weaved through pedestrians, jaywalking whenever she was able. Once she got to the train station, she hastily bought a ticket for the next train to Cevio, checking her phone to see where she would end up. It seemed that the train would bring her to a station in Cevio's midtown. It wouldn't be too long – Yukari would get to Cevio around two in the afternoon, allowing her ample time to make her way downtown to where Ia would be.

On the train, Yukari examined the directions provided to her by her phone. When the train arrived, she would be deposited on the west side of Cevio, so she needed to take a subway line over to the east side. From there, she could make a transfer to another, heading downtown, and the rest would be walkable from there. It didn't seem too complicated, thankfully, and when Yukari arrived, she quickly followed the directions on her phone and soon enough was walking down 10th Street, crossing between avenues as her eyes scanned for a coffee shop, that was also next to a curry shop.

Then, she found it. The spicy aroma of curry floated out, and Yukari glanced over to her right and saw patrons hunched over a white counter, eating. Right next to it was an unassuming looking café. It wasn't especially crowded, but seated at the counter with a cup of coffee next to her, book open in her hand, was Ia.

Ia, in the flesh.

Yukari didn't even realize when she had entered the space. "Ia!"

Ia turned, and the sight of those familiar blue eyes, fixed on Yukari with such intensity, was enough to take Yukari's breath away. "Y-Yukari…"

Ia looked good, Yukari thought. She looked better than Yukari had imagined. She had grown, though she was still slightly shorter than her, and retained the waifish, delicate frame of her youth. Her face was the same, but there was a new sense of maturity and authority in her eyes, accentuated by her clean, minimalistic dress. Yukari is suddenly, searingly, aware of the fact that she had spent her life in stasis ever since Ia left, whereas Ia had clearly changed.

They stood there, Yukari staring at Ia and Ia staring at her. Yukari wanted to say something more, but she wasn't sure what else to say. This was the reunion she had been dreaming of…and yet, what was this strange sense of awkwardness?

"Can I…get you something to drink?" asked Ia after a little bit, her voice polite, yet distant.

Yukari's heart sank.

"Water is fine," was all she could manage to say, and Ia nodded, turned to the person at the counter, and ordered the water. Even now, it was still a surprise to see the barista nod and smile at Ia, to clearly be able to hear her words, and to be able to see her. The barista placed the glass cup of water on the counter, and awkwardly Yukari took it.

"Let's sit down," Ia said, getting up from her seat, carefully marking her place in her book, and walking over to a small corner table. Numbly, Yukari followed her, and soon they were sitting across from each other, the abyss of years gaping between them.

Over the last three years, Yukari had imagined all sorts of scenarios for when she would meet Ia again. Nearly all of them involved tears, hugs, kisses. Some of them involved Yukari moving to Cevio, others involved Ia moving to Yamaha, still others involved the two of them going together to some distant place. All of them were happy, all of them had them professing to each other their love and how hard it had been, to be without the other.

None of them were like this. None of them involved Ia and Yukari, sitting across from each other at a table in complete, palpably awkward silence. None of them involved neither Ia nor Yukari being able to look each other fully in the eye.

How could it be like this, when they had known each other for so long? All of a sudden, Yukari felt foolish for her haste. She had freaked out SeeU so much, caused so much trouble for her…for _this?_ Ia had even said that she would be here waiting the whole week. If it was going to be like this, then there was no need to have rushed, no need to have ran all the way here to see her.

And yet…even now, Yukari knew that there was no way she _wouldn't_ have run to see Ia.

"It's good to see you," said Ia quietly, after a long moment of silence.

Those words twisted something in Yukari. All of a sudden, she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to lash out, she wanted to make Ia feel the pain she felt over the past three years. "You could have seen me anytime you wanted," Yukari said, anger bubbling beneath her words. "I was right there. In Yamaha. Right where you left me."

Ia winced. "It's complicated," she said, eyes not quite meeting Yukari's.

"Compli… _complicated_?" Yukari said in disbelief, eyes wide. "You're…you're the one who left me! You just…you just disappeared for years out of my life!" _Almost as if you were really imaginary,_ Yukari wanted to say, but she knew the words would be too painful to use.

"It's not that simple," said Ia, and Yukari noted how her voice sounded different. It sounded…cultured. More refined. It was steady and implacable, and hearing Ia speak like that made the pain in Yukari's heart twist even more.

"I was…I was worried about you," Yukari said. "I missed you, so much. Didn't you ever think about that?"

"Of course I did," said Ia, quietly. "I thought about you every single day."

"Then why didn't you ever come? Or call? Or send a letter?" Yukari asked. The anger had gone now, drained out of her body to be replaced by sadness. She could hear the slight whine in her voice, how pleading it was.

Ia bit her lip. "I wanted to. Please believe that."

Yukari frowned, eyes directed down at her water. These words weren't good enough to placate the pain in her heart.

There was a silence before Ia spoke again. "So…I'm eighteen now. My birthday's just a month after yours…January 22nd. I guess we were close, to celebrate it together all these years." She smiled at Yukari, weakly.

"Ia…" Yukari said, but it was all she could say. It was as though someone was wearing an Ia costume. She walked and talked like Ia, but Yukari no longer knew her, could no longer understand her.

Ia leaned in, her eyes pleading. "Yukari…I'm really sorry. I really wanted to send you a letter, or call you, or do something…anything. But I couldn't. They thought I was crazy."

"Who?"

Ia smiled wryly then, her lips twisting in a cynical smile. "Everyone. When I tried explaining to my parents what happened…they didn't believe me. But why would they? After all, I had been in a coma, and you and I both know that our experience together…it was fantastical. It's funny…after so many years of being the one who was imaginary…when I tried telling everyone about you, they thought that _you_ were the one who was imaginary. And when I wouldn't stop trying to convince everyone that you existed…well," Ia shrugged, "then the visits to the psychiatrists started. A lot of them told me that people dream in comas…a lot of them told me that all along, I had only dreamt of a girl named Yukari. They told me that, day after day, month after month, year after year, that you weren't real."

The words brought back all the memories of Yukari's youth to her mind again. The pitying way her teachers looked at her, the disappointed and worried expressions of her parents, the jeering of her peers…

But Yukari was still reluctant to let Ia off the hook. After all, it should have been easy to prove that Yukari existed – a simple call would have sufficed, or asking around Yamaha. Yukari would have done anything, absolutely anything, she could to have shown everyone that Ia was real…

"Why didn't you just…call me?" Yukari asked.

"I…I didn't know your number," said Ia, looking down at her coffee. "After all, back when I was invisible, I didn't own anything, I didn't have a cellphone. I wouldn't have known what your phone number was. But the first thing I asked when I realized that you had left the house was to go to your house, to let you know I was okay. But my parents thought I was confused. They said that there was no way I could ever have known a girl named Yukari. None of my playmates growing up had that name, and from their perspective…those were the only people I could have ever known."

Ia breathed out a sigh, her blue eyes becoming distant as they looked into the past. "And it wasn't like I could have just jumped out of bed, either. I've been in a coma for ten years. When I tried…all of my limbs, they were like noodles. I didn't have any strength in me to do anything. No matter how much exercise my spirit got, it wasn't like that would have done anything for my body. I had to get in a wheelchair, just to get out of bed."

Yukari bit her lip. Somehow, she hadn't really thought of that – that Ia just wouldn't be physically able to come by and knock on her door after a few weeks. She had attributed the superhuman healing powers of Ia's spirit to Ia's body…but of course, a real human body is much messier than that of a spirit.

"I saw so many doctors," said Ia, shaking her head. "I kept asking about you though, so soon I started seeing psychiatrists too. My parents were worried that maybe I had gotten some kind of brain damage, with the accident. It was so complete," Ia laughed a little, softly, "I started thinking, what if maybe…all that I experienced with you _was_ just a dream? A long, feverish dream in a coma, dreaming of a childhood I never had. But then, I would have hoped that I had dreamed something a little more upbeat than what happened."

Yukari wanted to reach out and touch Ia, to stroke her hand and make sure she was okay. But the Ia speaking to her now was no longer _her_ Ia, and Yukari only shifted in her seat uncomfortably, her hands clenched under the table as she tried to repress the urge.

"Anyways," Ia shook her head, "my parents kept a close eye on me. They had made a big announcement that I was back, and so I was in the public eye from then on as the heir to the Akasakas. I had to go to all the parties, I had to take on an internship at the company…I had to represent the Akasakas adequately, as the heir to the company."

Yukari tried to imagine Ia in the midst of high society, but couldn't. All she saw in her mind was the same Ia she always knew, head bent over a book, giggling at Yukari's jokes. She could see Ia getting excited about all the facts she learned in her books, but she couldn't imagine Ia in a fancy dress at a fancy party.

"I couldn't let myself be seen as crazy…my parents wouldn't have allowed it. Everything I did was closely monitored. I couldn't make any unauthorized calls, or even really go on the Internet that much. Not that I ever grew up with the privileges of those, so it wasn't too bad. And my parents didn't want to go back to Yamaha again – there were too many bad memories there. They had only come back because they had a superstitious feeling that if they did, maybe I would have woken up. They were right, but they didn't want to chance some other unfortunate event happening. So I couldn't go back to Yamaha…I couldn't go back to your place and knock on your door. I couldn't call anyone, I couldn't use the Internet to look up any information. All I could do was go to tutoring, then my internship…go to the parties, and mingle with other heirs of other families...and read."

"Oh…" said Yukari, numbly. Her mind was caught on that last sentence – 'mingle with other heirs of other families'. "Then…how did you send me the letter?"

"I'm eighteen now," said Ia. "I can't get institutionalized unless I seem like I'm going to harm myself, or others. My letter still had to get read, and edited...but I could at least send it to you. And I've learned that if I wanted to get by, I needed to stop talking about you, and once I did, I've managed to convince my parents enough to let me move out. I'll be getting my own apartment, close to where I'll be going to university."

"Oh," said Yukari, again. She didn't know what else she could say, and she wasn't sure what to think. Throughout the conversation, Ia had not once referred to the state of their relationship with each other. "That's…that's great." She tried to smile. "I'm glad you're able to pursue…everything you wanted to pursue."

There was a brief silence then, neither of them looking fully into each other's eyes. Then, slowly, Ia spoke. "I…I know you must be angry with me. And I know you must have a million things to do, what with the beginning of the semester starting at a lot of places. But maybe…you can stay over tonight? We can catch up. It'll be just like old times."

Somehow it felt like it wouldn't be like old times. But Yukari looked at Ia and knew that she couldn't refuse. Something in her heart was inexorably tugging her towards her. Yukari felt helpless before her, even with the new awkwardness, and the uncertain state of their relationship.

So…what else could she do but say yes?

-xxx-

Ia smiled at the doorman as she led Yukari inside, and the doorman smiled back, though his eyes drifted over to Yukari questioningly as Ia led Yukari over to the elevators. She had to enter some sort of special code into the keypad before pressing the letter P, and the elevator slowly ascended.

When the elevator reached their destination, it opened immediately into a large, opulent living room, and Yukari's breath caught in her throat. The only memory she had of really seeing the wealth of the Akasaka's was back at their summer home in Yamaha, but Yukari had been too nervous and scared at the time to really take it in. Now, all the details of their wealth crowded around her, from the large, open windows that looked out at a dazzling view of the city, to the various art pieces installed around the sunken living room.

"My parents are out tonight," said Ia, obliviously leading Yukari through the wealth, as though she was used to it. But why wouldn't she be? After all, she lived here. Yukari remembered the countless hours they spent in Yukari's ordinary middle-class home, and felt something weird coil in her stomach. This was what Ia was used to now – this was her social class. "They'll be back late, so they won't even know you're here."

Something painful twisted in Yukari's heart. It felt like she was a dirty secret, having to be kept hidden away from Ia's parents and her life.

"Anyways, here's the living room," Ia gestured, "and the kitchen…down this hallway there's a couple of bathrooms and guest rooms…and here," Ia flung open a door, "is my room."

Yukari stepped inside, and the first thing that struck her was the sheer amount of books that Ia had. There were stacks and stacks of them, teetering off the shelves. There were books on the windowsill, books on the desk. And the desk…Yukari swept her eyes across it. There were reams of notebook paper, mathematical formulae scribbled across them. Two large monitors, one of which displayed some text editor, the other of which was paused on what appeared to be some sort of college lecture on physics.

It was exactly the kind of room Yukari imagined Ia would have, if she had a room. Every detail screamed Ia, and all at once, a flood of relief ran through Yukari's spine. The fear that had dogged her ever since she met Ia in the coffeeshop, the fear that maybe she no longer knew Ia, that Akasaka Ia was different from the Ia she loved…it dissipated the more and more Yukari looked and took in every little detail of the room. This was it, after all.

This was the room of the Ia Yukari knew…the Ia Yukari loved.

"Wow," said Yukari softly as she perused the titles on one of the bookshelves, the spines reflecting Ia's eclectic taste in subjects. She felt calmer now, on surer ground, here in Ia's room, a little more removed from the reminders of how much things had changed. In Ia's room, it seemed like not much had changed at all. "There's really a ton of books in here."

Ia blushed, ducking her head a little. "Y-yeah. Well…you know."

Yukari smiled at Ia then, and returned to looking through Ia's books, trying to discern their lost years from them.

After a silence, Ia spoke. "It's hard to believe that you're really here."

Yukari's lips quirked. "Yeah…same here. It must be weird, living out here. It's really different from Yamaha."

"Yeah," said Ia, moving over to the window and gazing out at the city. Yukari followed her, looking down at the people below, and out at the park that the residence was next to. It was large, but on the other side, Yukari could make out another set of buildings, nearly all with lights on. "There's always stuff to do here. All sorts of parks, and events…all sorts of museums, and galleries."

Yukari nodded, thinking back on the childhood they spent together in Yamaha. It had been nothing like this. If the car accident had never happened…Ia would have lived here, for her childhood. Right here, in this bustling city, overflowing with life. Living, in a way that was completely alien to the sleepy suburb Yukari grew up in. "It sounds exciting. There must be tons of people here…millions."

"Yes," said Ia, her voice suddenly becoming distant. "But…none of them were the one I wanted."

Yukari's eyes widened, and she turned her head to look at Ia.

Ia ducked her head again, her face flushing a deep red. "You…you're probably dating someone now," she said, all in a rush. "I know that…I know that a lot of people liked you. You're probably dating someone pretty, and popular—"

"No," Yukari interrupted, a wild hope leaping up in her chest. "No, I'm not."

Ia looked up then, her blue eyes startlingly intense. "Really?"

"Ia…of course not," Yukari said. "How could I have…" she trailed off then, a question catching in her mind. When she spoke again, her voice faltered a little as she asked. "Are…are you? Dating someone else?"

Ia shook her head. "There's never been anyone, other than you."

The words were an invitation, as clear as Ia could make it. Yukari swallowed. "I—"

"I missed you, Yukari," Ia said, softly. "So much."

At that, Yukari didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, reached out to hold Ia's hand as she lowered her lips to hers. It was, briefly, awkward, noses bumping into each other – Ia had grown a little bit, or maybe it was Yukari who had grown a little bit, or both. In Yukari's dreams, when they reunited, their kisses had always been perfect, slotting together the way everything should, but of course, reality was different.

But the awkwardness lasted only a moment before they settled together, lips slanted against each other as Yukari rested her hands on Ia's hips. Ia was more demanding than she remembered, her lips seeking out Yukari's with feverish intensity, her hands pulling Yukari closer. And while Ia's body and lips weren't exactly what Yukari remembered, Yukari realized that that didn't matter. Surely, they both changed over the past three years…but that didn't matter, when the core of them was the same, when they could learn each other all over again.

"Yukari," said Ia, drawing back slightly, though her breath still caressed Yukari's lips, "I missed you every day, for the past three years. I'm getting my own apartment…y-you can stay with me, if you want. If it's convenient." Her eyes gazed up at Yukari's, suddenly wide and pleading, as though she was afraid of Yukari leaving. In her eyes, Yukari could read clearly that Ia meant every word, and all at once, Yukari started to grasp a little more of how much Ia had suffered, in the intervening years.

"I…I wish I could," Yukari said. "But…my college's in Artech."

Disappointment flashed through Ia's eyes. "Oh…"

"But it doesn't matter," Yukari said quickly. "I'll come visit you." She brought her hand up to caress Ia's pale cheek. "Every weekend. It's not that far. It's only an hour away by train."

Ia sighed, leaning into Yukari's hand as she glanced up at her from beneath her eyelashes. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Yukari brushed a kiss against Ia's lips. "You think I'd leave you now, when I finally found you?"

"But you'll have school, and all your friends…"

"It doesn't matter," Yukari assured her, and it was true. What mattered to her was the girl in her arms now, the girl she first found sitting on the bench when she was five, swinging her legs and gazing out at the sky. The girl who became her first friend in Yamaha, the girl she spent her childhood with, and fell in love with. Ia had always been her home. It didn't matter if the whole world could see her now, because she was Yukari's, and Yukari's was hers. "Besides, they can see you now, remember? You can come down to Artech sometime too. I can introduce you to everyone."

"O-oh," said Ia, eyes widening as she blushed. "Right. I…I forgot," she said awkwardly, "that they'd be able to see me."

Yukari laughed, and hugged Ia tightly. Even after all these years, and even after all these changes, she still felt like a perfect fit. "Of course they can."

Ia smiled then, and kissed Yukari again, slow at first, but steadily, her kisses became more and more heated as she insistently pulled Yukari towards her. They stumbled blindly, Ia backwards, Yukari forward, tripping over stacks of books, laughing into each other's mouths as they fell into bed.

These kisses felt different than when they were younger, Yukari thought. They had burned with desire back then too, but neither of them went too far, the weight of Ia's questionable reality weighing too heavily on both of their minds for them to take it all the way. Due to that, their kisses had been more pure, as expressions of trust, and comfort, and love. But now, Yukari was acutely aware that they were older, and three years of missing Ia, of missing her smile, her lips, her body, were pent-up in her.

"I…Ia," Yukari stuttered over the word, her tongue heavy in her mouth. Her heart beat fast, fast, fast, as she stared down into those heady blue eyes. "Are you…is this—"

"Yes," said Ia almost instantly, bringing her hands up to tug Yukari closer to her. "Please."

Despite herself, Yukari couldn't help but to smile. It all seemed so right, here in this moment, and she was fiercely glad that she had never considered going this far with anyone other than Ia, the person she trusted most in the world. Still, she couldn't help but to tease Ia a little. "So…is this why you wanted me to come over to your place?"

Ia blushed furiously. "N-no! W-well…maybe."

Yukari laughed, then, and brought her lips down to Ia's.

.

.

 **\- Epilogue -**

"Yukari!" said Mayu cheerily, much to Yukari's surprise. She stopped still at the door of the café, eyes wide. Ia had told her to meet her here in the afternoon. It was a small café, close to Ia's campus, and while Yukari knew that Mayu went to college somewhere in Cevio, it was still crazy that she ran into her here, of all places.

Still, Yukari smiled. She was still glad to see her friend, and walked over. "Mayu! What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Geez, Yukari, you forgot already? I go to school here," said Mayu, grinning that same grin she always put on when she knew something Yukari didn't. "I should ask you, what're _you_ doing _here_? Don't you go to school out in Artech?"

"Well, I'm meeting—"

"Hey everyone!" said Ia out of nowhere, pulling out the seat next to Yukari as she sat down. To Yukari's astonishment, she sent Mayu a sunny, familiar smile. "I see you two met each other."

"Met each other?" said Yukari dumbly. "Wait." She glanced back and forth between Mayu and Ia. "You two know each other?"

"What're you talking about?" Mayu affected confusion, her eyes comically large as she widened them in mock hurt. "You're the one who told me about her when we were kids, remember?"

"I dunno if I _told_ you about her…I mean, you kind of just overheard…"

"Mayu and I are in the same Astrophysics class," Ia informed her.

"I recognized Ia right away," said Mayu with a grin. "After all those descriptions you gave me. You're right, by the way – she _does_ have really distinctive hair. So naturally, I took the seat next to her, introduced myself, and from then on, we became friends."

"Well," Ia said, smiling. "It was a little more complicated than that."

"Okay," Mayu allowed. " _Maybe_ I was a little overenthusiastic. Anyways," she checked her watch, "I should probably leave you two to it. Wouldn't want to third-wheel," she said with a wink.

Despite herself, Yukari blushed at the mention of their relationship. "I-it's okay-"

"No, no," said Mayu, laughing as she got up. "I just wanted to stop by and say hi. We should all hang out sometime – you, me, Ia…you should bring SeeU, too. I haven't seen her since we graduated. Has she met Ia yet, by the way?"

"Yup," said Yukari, smiling a little at the memory. Ia had visited Yukari at Artech a few weeks ago, and Yukari had taken it upon herself to immediately introduce her to SeeU. While Yukari was still reluctant to give her the full details of how they met – even with Ia being visible now, the story was still a bit too fantastical for someone like SeeU to really buy – to her great relief, SeeU and Ia seemed to get along well enough. They were both fairly intellectual, and had bonded, to Yukari's mortification, over how they had both had to help Yukari a lot with homework back in the day.

"Oh, great," said Mayu cheerily. "Anyways…have fun, you two. Ia, we're meeting up later this week to go over Astrophysics?"

"Yup," said Ia, waving her off. "See you later."

"Huh," said Yukari, looking at Mayu's receding figure. "She's a physics major too?"

"Oh, no," said Ia. "She's just taking it as an elective, for some reason. I think she's a Criminology major or something. Anyways," Ia got up, "do you want to head back to my apartment?"

Yukari gave the affirmative, and the two of them headed out. As they walked down the street, Yukari asked, "So…One's going to the play too, right? What time?"

"Yeah," said Ia, her lips easing into a fond smile. "She'll be meeting us at my place around four. I still can't believe she's already sixteen." She shook her head.

Yukari knew that Ia wanted, badly, to make up for lost time with her family. While of course, it would have been nice to go to the theater with just her and Ia, she welcomed One's presence anyways. The girl was still a little prickly around her, but Yukari just chalked it up to overprotectiveness of her older sister, who had been comatose for most of her life.

Indeed, the Akasakas were still rather prickly to Yukari as a whole. To make their relationship easier to explain, Ia had vaguely said that she had met Yukari when Yukari was visiting Cevio on some pre-college trip. Her family seemed to have bought it, but Yukari was sure that the relative speed of their relationship probably raised a few eyebrows…not to mention, Yukari shared a name with the girl Ia incessantly spoke of back in the day that the Akasakas thought was merely a product of a dream.

Yukari's parents, on the other hand…they were only overjoyed to know that Yukari had somehow ended up in a relationship with one of the famous Akasakas, and didn't seem to pry too deeply into how they met. Yukari wondered if her parents still remembered the name of that imaginary friend she had spoken of so often as a child, and cared to match Akasaka Ia to Yukari's imaginary best friend, Ia.

Well…not that that really mattered to them, anymore. After all, Ia was visible now, and they had each other. Yukari shook her head and smiled, looking back up at the sky. Ia's hand was warm and undeniably real in hers, and Yukari hummed as they walked, feeling a heavy sense of relaxation fall over her like a gentle cloak.

The world seemed right, holding on to Ia's hand, and the two of them walked the steady path home.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed the story!

When I first started writing this, it actually turned out to be a fairly dark tale, all in all. Originally, I had it written to when they become eighteen, and Ia was never reunited with her body. I think Ia was psychologically at her breaking point at fourteen or fifteen, so at sixteen, I had planned for her to be quite messed up, and really unsure of who she is, and how real she herself is. Thus, her relationship with Yukari grew more and more obsessive/twisted on both ends. And at eighteen, shit got real. Looking at the happy way they ended up here, it's hard to believe that I ever wrote such a messed up ending for this story haha.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you to all who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed!


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